By Joey Gerardi
Boutique Air Adds Third Destination in Oregon
Despite the mass layoffs on Oct. 1, when CARES funding ran out, San Francisco-based Boutique Air has continued expanding its route map. Not more than a week after the carrier began its new flights to Palm Springs on Oct. 1, they announced another new destination: Redmond/Bend, Oregon.
Service to Redmond will be the carrier’s third destination in the state of Oregon, the other two being Portland International and Pendleton via the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport, the latter of the two being one of the many Essential Air Service (EAS) cities Boutique flies to.
The new route to Redmond/Bend will commence on Oct. 15 and will be flown twice daily in each direction from the carrier’s Portland base. Flights will be operated with Pilatus PC-12 aircraft.
Boutique Air’s Portland, Ore. network (Photo: Boutique Air)
Passengers on board Boutique’s new flight will be able to connect onto flights with one of Boutique Air’s partners, namely American and United, once they reach Portland. The new Boutique flights to Redmond are bookable on either airlines’ website as well as Boutique’s own website.
If you choose to connect to or from Boutique to another airline in Portland, make sure to leave yourself plenty of time, as the airline’s Portland flights operate out of a private terminal separate from the airport’s main terminal. The airline provides a complimentary shuttle service to its passengers connecting onto other flights in the main terminal.
The private terminal where Boutique Air flights operate out of in Portland, Ore. (Photo: Boutique Air)
Redmond/Bend will be the second non-EAS city the carrier will have on its current map, the other being Palm Springs, Calif. which was announced in mid-September. Boutique has been known for operating predominantly EAS routes since the discontinuation of its service to Telluride, Colo. back in the fall of 2019.
Boutique Air’s current route map as of Oct. 5, 2020 (Photo: Boutique Air)
In Redmond/Bend, the San Francisco-based carrier will be operating directly out of the main passenger terminal. They will compete on the Redmond-Portland sector with Alaska Airlines’ regional affiliate, Horizon Air.
Joe has always been interested in planes, for as long as he can remember. He grew up in Central New York during the early 2000s when US Airways Express turboprops ruled the skies. Being from a non-aviation family made it harder for him to be around planes and would only spend about three hours a month at the airport. He was so excited when he could drive by himself and the first thing he did with the license was get ice cream and go plane spotting for the entire day. When he has the time (and money) he likes to take spotting trips to any location worth a visit. He’s currently enrolled at Western Michigan University earning a degree in Aviation Management and Operations.
