ALAMOSA — More flights have been added to the schedule by Boutique Air effective July 1.

Shawn Simpson, CEO of Boutique Air, said the company had been discussing what it could do to bring more flights into and out of the San Luis Valley Airport. The company has added additional flights to and from Denver.  Departure flight are at 6:50 a.m. and 1:55, 5:15 and 10:35 p.m. Coming in from Denver the flights arrive at 9:35 a.m., and 4:40, 8 and 11:20 p.m.

Simpson said the addition of the later flights will allow passengers to catch later flights out of Denver. There is also a roundtrip flight to Albuquerque, N.M. six days a week.

“This will support the airport and increase the number of people flying out of Alamosa,” Simpson stated. The Federal Aviation Administration awards up to $1 million to airports that reach 10,000 departure passenger and they just added another level: $600,000 for 8,000 departures, he said.

With the new flights added by Boutique Air, Simpson believes the 8,000 mark can be achieved this year. “That will help the airport and the City of Alamosa.”

Boutique air flew 13,724 passengers in 2018 and the all-time high was 14,694 in 2007. “It is possible that we may set a new record high this year, especially with the additional flights to Albuquerque,” Simpson stated.

Boutique Air serves 14 states with 25 aircraft and has 450 employees. It also is a codeshare partner with United Airlines and interline partners with American Airlines.