Pierre Regional Airport

Coordinates: 44°22′58″N 100°17′10″W / 44.38278°N 100.28611°W / 44.38278; -100.28611
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Pierre Regional Airport

Pierre Army Airfield
AMSL
1,744 ft / 532 m
Coordinates44°22′58″N 100°17′10″W / 44.38278°N 100.28611°W / 44.38278; -100.28611
WebsitePierreAirport.com
Maps
FAA airport diagram
FAA airport diagram
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
7/25 6,880 2,097 Asphalt
13/31 6,900 2,103 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Aircraft operations (year ending 9/13/2019)31,960
Based aircraft63

Pierre Regional Airport (IATA: PIR, ICAO: KPIR, FAA LID: PIR) is a public airport three miles east of Pierre, in Hughes County, South Dakota.[1]

Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 15,983 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008,[2] 13,692 in 2009 and 14,686 in 2010.[3] The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year).[4]

Facilities

Old terminal building, demolished September 2013

Pierre Regional Airport covers 1,834 acres (742 ha) at an elevation of 1,744 feet (532 m). It has two asphalt runways: 7/25 is 6,880 by 150 feet (2,097 x 46 m) and 13/31 is 6,900 by 100 feet (2,103 x 30 m).[1]

In the year ending September 13, 2019, the airport had 31,960 aircraft operations, average 88 per day: 70% general aviation, 5% airline, 23% air taxi and 2% military. 63 aircraft were then based at the airport: 47 single-engine, 14 multi-engine, 1 jet, and 1 helicopter.[1]

New terminal building

The current airport terminal building opened on September 12, 2012, a 21,000 square foot facility built by Dean Kurtz Construction.

A new terminal had been needed for many years, as the old terminal building was plagued by a number of problems, primarily space constraints. Construction on the new terminal began in late spring of 2011 and was completed in September of 2012.[5] Denver-based Coover-Clark & Associates, Inc. designed the building, and Kadrmas Lee & Jackson's Rapid City office handled the construction administration.[6] Initially, a jet bridge was to be installed at the terminal, but airport officials decided to wait until a scheduled commercial airline could use the jet bridge, as Great Lakes Airlines aircraft serving the airport at the time were not jet bridge capable. Officials also waited because Pierre had been without scheduled passenger jet service operated with mainline aircraft for over 30 years. The new terminal building was designed with the space set aside for a loading bridge, so it required very little effort to install one when the time came.

With the introduction of jet service by Aerodynamics, Inc., in 2016, the city began considering a jet bridge for the airport. In August 2017, the Pierre city commission awarded the job of making and installing a new jet-boarding bridge to Sharpe of Pierre for its bid of $716,500. The new jet bridge was installed at the airport on April 23, 2018. A federal grant covered nearly all of the costs, with the state kicking in 5% and the city 5%, or about $45,000.

Military use

During

B-17 Flying Fortress
bomber training.

Historical airline service

Pierre's first airline flights were around 1935, on Watertown Airways; this was at the old airport north of town at 44°24′50″N 100°20′42″W / 44.414°N 100.345°W / 44.414; -100.345. Inland Airlines and successor

Convair 240 flight.[7][8]

Convair 580s followed.[10]

The first jets were North Central

Convair 580
turboprops to Pierre as well.

In 1979 North Central merged with

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50s and Convair 580s.[12] Republic pulled out of Pierre in 1981, and mainline jet service ended when Western left in 1984.[13]

In 1981 Northern Airlines turboprops flew to Minneapolis/St. Paul, Rapid City, Sioux Falls and other cities.

Fokker F27 turboprops from Minneapolis/St. Paul and Sioux Falls.[16] In the fall of 1994 three commuter airlines were serving the airport: Great Lakes Airlines (operating as United Express), Mesaba Airlines (operating as Northwest Airlink) and AirVantage Airlines, an independent air carrier. Great Lakes Beechcraft 1900s flew nonstop to Denver and direct to Minneapolis/Saint Paul, and Mesaba Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner flew nonstop to Minneapolis/Saint Paul, and AirVantage Metroliners flew nonstop to Bismarck, ND, Rapid City and Sioux Falls.[17]
In summer 1999 Great Lakes Airlines (United Express) Beech 1900s flew to Denver and other cities.[18] In 2002 Great Lakes lost its designation as a United Express carrier but continued to serve Pierre.

Until June 30, 2006

Denver were subsidized by the Essential Air Service (EAS) program. The U.S. Department of Transportation selected Big Sky Airlines
to provide service beginning July 1, 2006, but that order was suspended when Great Lakes decided to continue service without the EAS subsidy.

In 2007 Mesaba Airlines (Northwest Airlink)

Canadair Regional Jet 200
aircraft until Delta Connection pulled out of Pierre on January 31, 2012.

From 2012 to 2015, Great Lakes Airlines 19-seat Beechcraft 1900Ds (later reduced to only 9 seats) to Minneapolis/St. Paul and Denver were the only airline flights serving Pierre. Great Lakes Airlines flew via interline agreements with Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines and United Airlines before ceasing all service to the airport in late 2015.

On August 15, 2016, Aerodynamics, Inc. (later

Embraer ERJ-145
regional jet aircraft. However, the airline suspended all operations nationwide and ended flights to Pierre and Watertown on January 17, 2019.

Airline and destinations

Air service to Pierre resumed on April 3, 2019, with daily flights to

Embraer ERJ-145
regional jets. The airline has an interline agreement with United Airlines but does not fly under the United Express brand like SkyWest. A decision was made in October, 2021 that Denver Air would keep the EAS award and SkyWest ultimately ended all service to both Pierre and Watertown on January 3, 2022.

AirlinesDestinations
Denver Air Connection Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul (ends June 9, 2024)[23]

Cargo

AirlinesDestinationsRefs
Fedex Feeder Operated by CSA Air Cargo
Sioux Falls[24]

Statistics

Top destinations

Busiest domestic routes from PIR
(March 2021 - February 2022)[25]
Rank Airport Passengers Airline
1 Denver, CO 19,000 Denver Air Connection

See also

References

  1. ^
    PDF
    . Federal Aviation Administration. Effective August 10, 2023.
  2. ^ "Enplanements for CY 2008" (PDF, 1.0 MB). faa.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. December 18, 2009.
  3. ^ "Enplanements for CY 2010" (PDF, 189 KB). faa.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2011.
  4. ^ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF, 2.03 MB). faa.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010.
  5. ^ Pierre Regional Airport web page
  6. ^ Pierre Regional Airport -- 100% construction documents.
  7. ^ http://timetableimages.com, April 29, 1951 Western timetable
  8. ^ http://timetableimages.com, Sept. 24, 1960 & Aug. 1, 1966 & Aug. 1, 1968 Western timetables
  9. ^ http://www.timetableimages.com, July 1, 1960 North Central timetable
  10. ^ http://www.timetableimages.com, Oct. 29, 1967 North Central timetable
  11. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Oct. 29, 1972 North Central timetable & Sept. 8, 1973 Western timetable
  12. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Nov. 15, 1979 Official Airline Guide
  13. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Oct. 25, 1981 Republic Airlines route map & Oct. 27, 1985 Western Airlines route map
  14. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Oct. 18, 1981 Northern Airlines map
  15. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Oct. 28, 1984 Mesaba route map
  16. ^ Dec. 1, 1988 OAG Pocket Flight Guide, North American Edition, Pierre flight schedules
  17. ^ Sept. 15, 1994 Official Airline Guide
  18. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, June 1, 1999 Official Airline Guide
  19. ^ Feb. 2007 OAG Flight Guide
  20. ^ "Current and Historical Status Reports". U.S. Department of Transportation.
  21. ^ Woodel, Michael (19 April 2021). "UPDATE: Pierre officials concerned Denver Air fleet won't keep pace with SkyWest". Capital Journal. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  22. ^ "SkyWest Tells Pierre It Intends To Continue Air Service After June 30th From Pierre". KCCR-AM. 2021-06-08. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  23. ^ "Pierre, Denver Air To End Flights To Minneapolis June 9th". kccrradio.com. Retrieved April 16, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. ^ "Home". fedexpurplerunway.com.
  25. ^ "Pierre Regional (PIR)". December 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2022.

Other sources

  • Essential Air Service documents (Docket OST-2001-10128) from the
    U.S. Department of Transportation
    :
    • Notice (July 12, 2001) of Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to terminate scheduled air service at Pierre, South Dakota, effective October 9, 2001.
    • Order 2002-3-32 (March 29, 2002): establishes a subsidy rate for Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., d/b/a United Express, to provide essential air service in the Pierre-Denver market at annual subsidy rates of $677,495 for the period October 10, 2001, through April 30, 2002, and $318,861 for the period May 1, 2002, through October 31, 2003.
    • Order 2004-7-5 (July 6, 2004): selects Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to continue subsidized essential air service at Pierre, and Air Midwest to provide subsidized essential air service at Brookings and Huron, for a two-year period. Great Lakes' service at Pierre is to be 12 weekly nonstop round trips to Denver with 19-seat Beech 1900-Ds, at an annual subsidy of $449,912. Air Midwest's service at Brookings and Huron is to be 12 weekly flights routed Huron-Brookings-Omaha-Brookings-Huron, with 19-seat Beech 1900-Ds, at an annual subsidy of $2,078,727.
    • Order 2006-5-7 (May 10, 2006): selecting Big Sky Transportation Co., d/b/a Big Sky Airlines, to provide essential air service (EAS) at Pierre, South Dakota, for the two-year period beginning July 1, 2006, at an annual subsidy rate of $379,616.
    • Order 2006-5-17 (May 19, 2006): terminating the subsidy being paid to Great Lakes Aviation, Inc. to serve Pierre, South Dakota, effective July 1, 2006 (suspends selection of Big Sky in Order 2006-5-7 since Great Lakes will continue to provide service without EAS subsidy).

External links


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