City of Pierre, Denver Air nixing eastbound flight

Low usage cited as reason for canceling Minneapolis route added last December

The Pierre Regional Airport. (Austin Goss/The Dakota Scout)

The lifespan of an east bound flight out of the South Dakota capital will be cut short.

Pierre City Commissioners Tuesday night heard from Denver Air Connection (DAC) — the sole provider of flights to and from the city — about their decision to pull its flight to Minneapolis after launching it in December. The last flight between the two cities will be June 9.

“We are pretty disappointed that Minneapolis is not going to work out,” said Jon Coleman, DAC’s business development director, noting a lack of interest in the route since flights began four months ago. “We gave it our best shot on a collective basis… We gave it our two best travels day of the week (and) gave it a schedule that we thought gave it the best opportunity to succeed. It just didn’t get people on to the plane.”

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