Boutique Air gives our residents an excellent alternative for going to or returning from Phoenix.
More than 40 invited guests greeted the 12:30 p.m. arrival of the eight-passenger, single-engine Pilatus PC-12 aircraft. City and community leaders welcomed those arriving with a celebratory ribbon-cutting.
PRC Management Analyst Kristi Miller greeted those present and introduced Prescott Mayor Greg Mengarelli. “Boutique Air gives our residents an excellent alternative for going to or returning from Phoenix for whatever the reason,” the mayor said. “Our citizens are appreciative of this option. The upscale commuter plane is truly a pleasure to fly in.”
PRC Advisory Committee Vice Chair Frank Newman echoed the mayor. “Having a prestigious airline like Boutique serve our greater community is an asset for all of us.”
Prescott Chamber of Commerce President Sheri Heiney presented Brian Kondrad, Boutique Air vice president of operations, with a certificate. She said she represented the entire Quad Cities area in welcoming the carrier to Yavapai County.
Konrad spoke briefly, saying the airline was pleased to be serving PRC passengers. He emphasized that Boutique would offer twice-daily round-trip flights. “The actual flight takes about 25 minutes,” he said.
Fights are offered Sundays through Fridays.
Kondrad said Pilatus PC-12 planes have eight seats arranged in executive seating configuration. “Passengers truly enjoy the experience of flying private for the cost of commercial.”
With headquarters in San Francisco, Boutique operates the second-largest fleet of PC-12s in the nation, using them across the country as commuters from smaller airports to larger ones. The Swiss-built aircraft are recognized for world-class engineering and safety.
PRC Continues to Expand
Having a second commercial carrier select Prescott is just another example of the recent success of PRC.
PRC was named “2020 Airport of the Year” by the Arizona Department of Transportation Aeronautics Group. Just a year earlier, it received the “2019 Outstanding Airport Award” from the Federal Aviation Administration Western Pacific Region.
PRC Airport Director Robin Sobotta told QCBN that, despite cutbacks and flight cancellations across the nation, “PRC has moved from 46th busiest airport in 2019 to 26th busiest airport in the nation in 2020. That’s largely because of airport operations created by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s aviation training program, but it also reflects our growth as a regional airport.”
Even with diminished commercial flights across the nation in 2020, 27,000 commercial passengers used PRC. They were enplaning and deplaning on SkyWest Airlines (operating as United Express), which operates daily flights to and from Los Angeles International and to Denver International. Both airports are major hubs for connecting flights.
Sobotta noted expansion will be highlighted further later this month when the new $15 million passenger terminal officially opens. A formal dedication won’t happen until later in the summer, she said, but passengers will soon be using the modern and technologically sophisticated facilities. “An indoor baggage handling system will appeal. So will installation of the full-body scanner equipment, which will speed up passengers going through security.”
The new terminal replaces one constructed in the 1940s, which has long needed major renovations.
Additionally, PRC is anticipating expansion of the main runway, Sobotta said. “It is needed to accommodate aircraft that require more distance to take off, especially during summer months when air density is less,” she explained. Extension will increase the current runway from 7,619 feet to 11,000 feet. It is projected to cost more than $63 million, with most of those funds coming from state and federal grants.
Sobotta provided information about the annual economic benefit created because of PRC. In 2019, it was estimated that PRC generated $160.3 million in economic impact. That was the result of 734 jobs; $53.9 million in payroll; 53,000 commercial passengers; and $13.8 million in economic impact from visitors who came via airlines to Prescott.
Sobotta, who earned a Ph.D. in public administration from Arizona State University, was a professor and founding chair of the School of Business at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott before she accepted her position with the city as airport director in 2018.
Sobotta said she and airport staff are enthusiastic about future operations at PRC. “We’re already among the top six busiest airports in Arizona and we see nothing but continued growth. We have people driving from Anthem and north Phoenix because it is easier to get through our airport than it is to go to Sky Harbor. With the new terminal, extended runway, more carriers and the potential for more destinations in the future, it is up – the only way to go,” she said with a smile. QCBN
By Ray Newton, QCBN