County raises concerns over Boutique Air

ALAMOSA — San Luis Valley Regional Airport Manager Will Hickman updated the Alamosa County commissioners on successes and challenges at the airport during the board’s Wednesday meeting.

Hickman began his update by bringing recent concerns with Boutique Air to the commissioners’ attention. The biggest issue thus far has been a significant amount of delays. It is currently unclear exactly how many of those delays have been weather related or due to other issues. Hickman noted that 75 percent of Boutiques’ flights have been on time.

Other concerns include slow response times to customer service issues and a lack of clarity as to what the company is doing to improve its marketing strategies. Hickman also noted that the Boutique staff in Alamosa “works hard,” and that the company has a “great safety record.” However, he made it clear that the concerns “need to be addressed.”

Hickman has reached out to Boutique CEO Shawn Simpson in hopes to have a discussion about the issues. He is also hopeful that Simpson or another company representative can come to the next San Luis Valley Airport Advisory Board meeting for a discussion. Hickman further noted that he does want to give Boutique a chance to respond. The commissioners were in agreement with this approach.

Other happenings at the airport include Centric Aviation taking over as the Fixed Base Operator. The process has gone very smoothly thus far. Both the wildlife fence and the Doppler Radar Projects are expected to be complete by mid-May.