Last month’s announcement that United Airlines will fly from Columbia Regional Airport to Denver and Chicago has consumers wondering if this will impact flight prices from COU.
Beginning September 25, United Airlines will offer daily nonstop flights to Denver and Chicago from Columbia Regional Airport. United suspended its flights to Columbia in 2022 due to staffing shortages from the COVID-19 pandemic.
City officials have touted the positive economic impact for Columbia. But according to former National Transportation Safety Board member John Goglia, consumers likely won’t notice a difference in airfare prices immediately, even though there’s competition for customers flying to Chicago.
So I would suspect that the fare from Chicago will not fall off a cliff, but it will start to erode downward," Goglia said.
While Goglia believes prices will go down, there are still fees that could get passed onto consumers, such as the landing fee, which varies based on the type and weight of the aircraft as well as the location, but is worked into the price of a ticket. Additionally, he says stores in the airport typically mark prices up 10-15% to keep the airport up and running.
“15 cents of every dollar you spend at the airport goes to run the airport, pay the salaries for the people working there,” said Goglia. “It’s a very, very delicate balance between all of that.”
Reservations for flights are available for booking on United Airlines website. American Airlines already offers three daily trips to Chicago’s O’Hare airport.
