Gawd, it is true! Un F'in Real!
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Get carried away to DIA
Great Lakes, Greyhound link up to offer new travel opportunity
By Jessica Lowell
[email protected]
Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
CHEYENNE - Starting the middle of next month, Great Lakes Aviation will offer transportation to Denver International Airport in a different way.
The Cheyenne-based regional airline will run Greyhound buses to and from the secured areas of the airport operations at Cheyenne and at DIA.
"What this means is that people can check their luggage in the airport in Cheyenne and be cleared for security here and be let off at the gate at DIA into a secured area," said Dave Thomas, Great Lakes marketing and planning vice president.
This project has been in the works since the start of the year, requiring negotiations between Great Lakes and Greyhound, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Transportation Security Administration and the airport managers.
"This is the first time people have tried to get buses on the operating area of an airport since the era of security began," Thomas said. "(Security officials) are very sensitive about those issues, and we have had to come up with some innovative ideas to make it work."
Service starts from Cheyenne on Nov. 12 and from Laramie and Fort Collins, Colo., on Nov. 17. Schedules are expected to be available today.
The one-way cost from Cheyenne will be $39 plus taxes and fees.
Thomas said Great Lakes plans two bus trips a day from Cheyenne to augment the five scheduled departures and arrivals by plane.
"There are a couple of gaps in service, and this will help with that," he said.
The airline will add two bus round trips from Laramie to complement the three flights it has scheduled. In Fort Collins, which has only regularly scheduled air service with Las Vegas by a different airline, Great Lakes will operate four round trips.
Thomas said airline officials still are negotiating with its codeshare partners, United Airlines and Frontier Airlines, to have the buses included in the arrangements that will give passengers frequent-flyer miles for the ground leg of the trip.
Airline officials say they will be able to move more people on the 50-seat buses.
"What we hear is that it's less expensive to drive than it is to fly," Thomas said. "In Cheyenne, we are competing against the highway."
What's more, he said, it's less expensive to operate a bus than it is to fly a plane.
Statistics show that many area residents prefer to make the 90-minute drive to DIA rather than pay for a relatively short plane trip.
The buses that will be used are new and are equipped with tray tables, reading lights and window shades, with power outlets for both cell phones and laptop computers.
By using buses, he said, the airline can offer fares that are competitive with driving rather than competitive with flying.
"It's an interesting opportunity," he said. "And this utilizes the facilities here in Cheyenne to a greater extent."
More information is available about fares and schedules through travel agents and through the airline, which can be reached at (800) 554-5111.
______________
Get carried away to DIA
Great Lakes, Greyhound link up to offer new travel opportunity
By Jessica Lowell
[email protected]
Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
CHEYENNE - Starting the middle of next month, Great Lakes Aviation will offer transportation to Denver International Airport in a different way.
The Cheyenne-based regional airline will run Greyhound buses to and from the secured areas of the airport operations at Cheyenne and at DIA.
"What this means is that people can check their luggage in the airport in Cheyenne and be cleared for security here and be let off at the gate at DIA into a secured area," said Dave Thomas, Great Lakes marketing and planning vice president.
This project has been in the works since the start of the year, requiring negotiations between Great Lakes and Greyhound, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Transportation Security Administration and the airport managers.
"This is the first time people have tried to get buses on the operating area of an airport since the era of security began," Thomas said. "(Security officials) are very sensitive about those issues, and we have had to come up with some innovative ideas to make it work."
Service starts from Cheyenne on Nov. 12 and from Laramie and Fort Collins, Colo., on Nov. 17. Schedules are expected to be available today.
The one-way cost from Cheyenne will be $39 plus taxes and fees.
Thomas said Great Lakes plans two bus trips a day from Cheyenne to augment the five scheduled departures and arrivals by plane.
"There are a couple of gaps in service, and this will help with that," he said.
The airline will add two bus round trips from Laramie to complement the three flights it has scheduled. In Fort Collins, which has only regularly scheduled air service with Las Vegas by a different airline, Great Lakes will operate four round trips.
Thomas said airline officials still are negotiating with its codeshare partners, United Airlines and Frontier Airlines, to have the buses included in the arrangements that will give passengers frequent-flyer miles for the ground leg of the trip.
Airline officials say they will be able to move more people on the 50-seat buses.
"What we hear is that it's less expensive to drive than it is to fly," Thomas said. "In Cheyenne, we are competing against the highway."
What's more, he said, it's less expensive to operate a bus than it is to fly a plane.
Statistics show that many area residents prefer to make the 90-minute drive to DIA rather than pay for a relatively short plane trip.
The buses that will be used are new and are equipped with tray tables, reading lights and window shades, with power outlets for both cell phones and laptop computers.
By using buses, he said, the airline can offer fares that are competitive with driving rather than competitive with flying.
"It's an interesting opportunity," he said. "And this utilizes the facilities here in Cheyenne to a greater extent."
More information is available about fares and schedules through travel agents and through the airline, which can be reached at (800) 554-5111.
