The Pierre Regional Airport is making the best of its federal subsidy with more passengers usage and competitive airfares:
“More passengers are filling our flights in and out of here over the last year … in fact, our available seats have increased by four percent, but during that same period, the share of seats filled increased from 51 percent to 59 percent, an eight percent gain,” [City Commissioner Jamie] Huizenga said.
He highlighted load factor, a metric for success and profitability in airlines, which measures the fixed costs of flight against the total number of paying passengers per flight. This load factor, Huizenga said, of close to 60 percent, is actually a good sign for an Essential Air Service community like Pierre.
…Comparing Pierre’s air fare to Sioux Falls or Rapid City’s airports also showed a positive trend – in some 87 percent of comparisons, Pierre’s airfares were either lower or within 7$5 [sic] each way of other airports, Huizenga said [Iain Woessner, “Pierre Regional Airport Sees Increased Demand,” Pierre Capital Journal, 2026.10.01].
I’m not sure what “7$5” translates to, but my Expedia check this morning must be in the 13% of non-competitive rates: I find flying to MSP from PIR priced much higher than from FSD or RAP.
But at less than 60% capacity, it sounds like there’s still plenty of room for Senator Mike Rounds to book his capital-to-capital travel. So come on, Mike: ditch your privileged private charter flights and spend our money boosting the passenger count on those regular commercial flights to make your hometown airline bookings even healthier.
Yay socialism!
I don’t know, flew into Pierre one time through a storm. The teenage pilot decided to go though and land in Pierre. It was a full flight all of us sitting on the right side naturally. Glad to make it from Denver. Makes you think.
So, in a state that says it hates big government money essential air service into South Dakota’s capital city has always looked like a bridge to nowhere. After the failure of Great Lakes Airlines to even board enough passengers to make subsidies work the corruption in Pierre continues. Water lines breaking, sinkholes, polyandry: just another day in the ditch, right?
My proposal for passenger rail from Minneapolis to Denver is a multi-modal route from the Twin Cities to Mankato on the right of way owned by the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad to Brookings, South Dakota and Pierre then to Rapid City and to Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway tracks at Alliance via Chadron, Nebraska then to Cheyenne and Denver. Service to Sioux Falls and Omaha could diverge at Florence, Minnesota.
A route in the I-90 median between Sioux Falls and Rapid City should also be explored.
South Dakota received nearly $27 million from the Federal Railroad Administration in both 2022 and 2023 through what’s known as federal Short-Time Compensation program. But Republicans in Montana and SD Department of Transportation Secretary Joel Jundt believe subsidized air service is what Republicans want because hey, why would they endure riding through the destruction they’ve caused when you can just fly over it?
grudznick can abide his close personal friend Lar’s train proposals. It is a damn shame people don’t listen.
Flying into Pierre. Always fun! Reading the news.
Hey Mike: “congressional approval would be needed to dismantle the department [of Education].
The investigation follows a broader push by [Sen. Elizabeth] Warren to challenge the administration’s restructuring of the Education Department. In May, she also sought a Government Accountability Office investigation into whether the dismantling was affecting the department’s ability to address waste, fraud, and abuse in federal student aid programs.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/elizabeth-warren-says-trump-administration-110011620.html
Formed in 1967, DOT’s FAA certifies Mike’s instrument rating he received while governor, and the aviation industry’s full commercial potential requires federal action to improve and maintain safety standards.
DoED, formed in 1979, establishes financial policy, data collection, focuses national issues, discrimination, equal access, and homelessness. Rounds, R-S.D., introduced legislation to abolish the U.S. Department of Education in a not-surprising move since it was part of Project 2025 to dissolve the 45-year-old agency while weakening public education in favor of private schools. Billionaire Scott Bessent, the Treasury Department, would oversee student loans for millions of college students and graduates. https://www.washingtoninformer.com/sen-rounds-proposed-abolish-education-department/
The real attraction for me is Ft. Pierre, Verendye brothers, S Dakota was part of France once.
Pierre the city of Trump lapdog?
Rounds retiring soon.
Ft. Pierre is endlessly better.