Approval Asked for Flights to Phoenix
For the first time in a decade, residents will be able to fly outside California from Oxnard Airport if a proposal by Mesa Air Group Inc., an affiliate of America West Airlines, wins approval.
The Oxnard Airport Authority, made up of two county supervisors, two City Council members and a public representative, will make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors on Thursday about the service from Oxnard to Phoenix. The board will decide the matter Aug. 1.
The proposed flights of twin-engine turboprop planes carrying up to 37 passengers twice a day to Arizona would start Sept. 6, according to Scott Smith, deputy director of airports.
Currently, SkyWest Airlines, an affiliate of United Airlines, is the only commercial airline in the county. SkyWest operates a shuttle service to and from Los Angeles International Airport six times daily.
Smith estimated that the additional flights would bring the airport $24,000 a year. Oxnard Airport serves about 80,000 passengers each year.
The flights would leave Oxnard at 6:40 a.m. and 3 p.m., arriving at 8:18 a.m. and 4:37 p.m., respectively, according to a reservation agent. Flights would depart Phoenix at 10:54 a.m. and 7:15 p.m., arriving in Oxnard at 12:36 and 8:57 p.m.
The flight will cost $106 round-trip. This compares with round-trip fares from Santa Barbara to Phoenix of $233 or Burbank to Phoenix for $99.
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