Grand Junction Regional Airport - Airlines and Destinations - Present & Past

Present & Past

Historically, the airport had mainline jet service provided by several air carriers. The original Frontier Airlines joined the jet-age in 1966 when this carrier began operating new Boeing 727-100 jetliners into Grand Junction. Frontier operated nonstop Boeing 727 jet service three times a day to both Denver and Salt Lake City with direct, no change of plane 727 service also being flown to Kansas City and St. Louis. Grand Junction was one of the first destinations in Frontier's U.S. route system to receive this new 727 service. Prior to initiating jet service, Frontier had served the airport with Convair 580 turboprop aircraft. In later years, Frontier operated Boeing 737-200 jets into Grand Junction and also continued to serve the airport with Convair 580 propjet flights.

United Airlines also served the airport with mainline jet service. By the late 1960's, United had replaced their Douglas DC-6B piston engine prop airliner service with Boeing 727-100 jet flights flown nonstop on a daily basis to Denver and Las Vegas with direct, no change of plane 727 service to Chicago, Los Angeles and Omaha. United continued to expand their presence in Grand Junction over the years as winter sports activities including snow skiing increased in western Colorado. For example, during the winter ski season in 1974, United was operating two nonstop flights on a seasonal basis every Saturday round trip between Grand Junction and Los Angeles with Boeing 727 and Douglas DC-8 jet aircraft. United then expanded their ski season service during the winter of 1976. According to the February 1976 edition of the Official Airline Guide (OAG), United was flying four nonstop round trip flights every Saturday between Grand Junction and Los Angeles with Boeing 727-200 and Douglas DC-8 jetliners with other special nonstop LAX-GJT flights being operated every Sunday as well during ski season. There were also United nonstops being flown between Grand Junction and San Francisco with three round trip Boeing 727-100 flights operated every Saturday. And United was flying nonstop between Grand Junction and Chicago at this time with three round trip flights operated every Saturday with Boeing 727-100 and Douglas DC-8 jets. In addition, the airline was operating direct, one stop DC-8 jet flights on Saturdays between Grand Junction and Cleveland during the 1976 ski season. In later years, United operated daily Boeing 727-200 and Boeing 737-200 jet service from the airport as well.

Also during the winter of 1976, Frontier Airlines and Western Airlines both operated special ski season flights every Saturday with Boeing 737-200 jetliners. Frontier operated two round trip nonstop flights between Grand Junction and Dallas/Ft. Worth while Western was flying two round trip nonstop flights between Grand Junction and San Francisco.

In addition, Continental Airlines operated flights from Grand Junction with mainline jet aircraft during the 1980's and early 1990's when this air carrier was operating a major connecting hub in Denver. Jetliner types operated over the years by Continental from the airport included Boeing 727-100 and 727-200, Boeing 737-200 and 737-300, and Douglas DC-9-10 and DC-9-30 aircraft. Continental recently merged with United Airlines.

America West Airlines served the airport as well at one point with nonstop Boeing 737-200 service to Phoenix. America West subsequently merged with US Airways.

Currently, the only service operated with mainline jet aircraft from Grand Junction is flown by Allegiant Air with McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jetliners several days a week nonstop to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The other air carriers that presently serve the airport operate regional jet aircraft on their flights to various connecting hub airports.