Here's when Redding flights to Los Angeles could restart. Will service to Denver follow?

Down to one flight a day due to COVID-19, Redding Municipal Airport expects to see the return of service to Los Angeles in March, Airports Manager Jim Wadleigh said.

And the city is going after a federal grant to help it land service to Denver, a destination Redding has pursued for decades.

Redding lost nonstop service to Los Angeles International Airport last spring as United and other airlines slashed flights in response to the coronavirus pandemic. United had been offering the flight for a little over a year.

United also decreased the number of daily flights from Redding to San Francisco from three to one daily flight.

Waiting to see what the demand is

Wadleigh said the airport was told the Los Angeles flight would return March 4. 

However, the United Airlines website on Tuesday afternoon showed the LAX flight re-starting Feb. 1.

"I am aware that sometimes a flight will be included on the web page to test demand," Wadleigh said in an email to the Record Searchlight. "I cannot tell you why United does that. It creates confusion. But, I have heard that if a flight is booked and that time block hasn’t returned, the flight will be re-booked to one that is available, at no charge to the passenger."

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And airline schedules can change with the pandemic.

Wadleigh hoped United would bring back the Los Angeles flight last summer. And United’s website at one point showed the flight resuming in early August. But it did not happen.

The flights to Los Angeles were doing well before the pandemic. The planes were more than 80% full, with an average capacity of 85% in the fall and winter of 2019.

“Prior to COVID-19, Redding was going to get a second LAX flight because that market was doing so well. That revenue did exactly what it was supposed to do, allowed the community to get used to using it and mature,” Wadleigh said in an email. “We knew the second LAX flight was going to begin in May 2020.”

Working with Shasta Economic Development Corp. and other business leaders, the city established a $1 million travel bank to help get the Los Angeles service. Bethel Church played a key role in that effort.

'You don’t have to go south to go east'

The city also hopes to use a revenue guarantee to entice United to start flights to Denver.

Last month, the Redding City Council approved the application for a Small Community Air Service Development Program grant of $1.2 million with a 20% local match, Wadleigh said.

“The funds that the city of Redding will apply for later this month will provide revenue guarantee funds to add Denver International Airport roundtrip air service,” he said.

If Redding can get the flights to Denver, Wadleigh hopes they will start in 2022.

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Denver is a destination Redding officials have coveted for more than 20 years. Last decade, the city tried to leverage a $500,000 federal air service development grant to land United Airlines service to Denver. The effort failed.

“I believe Denver will be a game-changer for the community. It is eastbound. You don’t have to go south to go east,” Wadleigh said, adding that Denver is expanding and does not have runway issues like San Francisco does when it’s foggy.

Public Works Director Chuck Aukland said United Airlines and SkyWest, which flies out of Redding as a United Express carrier, provided letters of support in the city's Small Community Air Service Development Program grant application.

"There is a strong likelihood they will support the flight with the revenue guarantee from the grant. Their risk is significantly reduced," Aukland said in an email.

Meanwhile, Wadleigh said United has told him a second flight to San Francisco will return in the spring or early summer of this year.

David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-225-8219. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.