SYRACUSE — The Syracuse–area business community has been asking for direct air service from Syracuse to Denver for a while now.

The annual air-development survey by CenterState CEO asks businesses what they feel are the “most important” destinations for their work, both domestically and around the globe, according to Robert Simpson, president and CEO of CenterState CEO. 

“For at least five years running, the number one destination that our business community has asked for is direct service to Denver,” said Simpson. 

Simpson was among the speakers at Syracuse Hancock International Airport for the Feb. 14 announcement that United Airlines, Inc. planned to start offering daily, year-round, non-stop service to Denver International Airport from Syracuse beginning June 6. 

Simpson recalled how he and some airport officials, including former executive director Christina Callahan, traveled to Chicago to meet with United Airlines. They told United about what they believed was happening in Central New York with “growth and investment and new opportunity like this phenomenal facility,” referring to the renovated Syracuse airport.

United Airlines, Simpson noted, “took their time,” doing its due diligence and “validated” the story that they had shared.

“It cannot be understated how important good air-service connections are to our growth and vitality. It is a global business environment and our ability to get to global, world-class cities like Denver is critically important to our competitiveness,” said Simpson.

In its discussions with the local business community, the airport heard a “consistent message” that people want more direct service to more cities, Christina Callahan, outgoing executive director of Syracuse Hancock International Airport, said in her remarks to open the Feb. 14 announcement, the day before she left for a job at LaGuardia Airport in New York City.

“We want service to cities out west. We want to make our commute to the West Coast easier, but what we really want is direct service to Denver,” said Callahan, paraphrasing the input that airport officials had been hearing. 

The new flight “improves connection opportunities to popular destinations” including Las Vegas and Reno in Nevada; San Diego and Palm Springs in California; and Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as well as creating a way for New Yorkers to travel to places like Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Billings, Montana, Medford, Oregon and Santa Barbara, California “with just one stop,” per Syracuse Regional Airport Authority’s (SRAA) news release. 

Tickets are now available for purchase for the flight, the authority added.

After the formal announcement, a CNYBJ reporter asked Callahan if Hancock Airport offered United Airlines any incentives to attract the new Denver service to Syracuse. 

“United is eligible for our very robust incentive program, which includes a combination of fee waivers and assistance with marketing and advertising,” said Callahan. “Our objectives with our incentive program is to make their entry in these new markets as easy as possible and also to get the word out that we now have this great new service out of Syracuse.”