Boutique Air arrives

By TOM LAVENTURE

tlaventure@yourdailyglobe.com

Ironwood Township - Boutique Air, the new Essential Air Provider for Gogebic-Iron County Airport, started service to the area on Saturday with flights to Minneapolis and Chicago.

Boutique took over EAS service from Air Choice One with a contract from Aug. 1, 2020, through July 31, 2022, that was approved in April by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The San Francisco-based Boutique has air service routes nationwide and fly mostly the 9-seat Pilatus PC-12 aircraft that will be used in Ironwood to provide 13 weekly nonstop round trips to Chicago O'Hare International Airport and five weekly nonstop round trips to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

"I personally like that the aircraft is a little faster than what it was (with the Cessna Grand Caravan of Air Choice One)," said Kate Duncan who was returning to Chicago from Ironwood on Tuesday with her brother-in-law Matt Duncan.

The two were passengers aboard the maiden Boutique flight from the Windy City to Ironwood on Saturday. The flight was just over an hour and 15 minutes with the Pilatus' cruise speed of 313 mph. They were accustomed to the Grand Caravan cruise speed of around 214 mph.

"It was definitely faster," she said.

The two said they prefer flying to the U.P. than driving from their northwest suburban homes in Chicago, where they summer at a family home and also come in winter for skiing and snowmobiling. Flying is affordable, convenient and time-saving, they said.

"We think it's a great deal," said Matt Duncan, who found the flight to be pleasant with friendly service and in-flight refreshments. The Grand Caravan was a much roomier plane but the Pilatus is faster, he said.

"They were there on time," he said. "They were nice."

The Duncans said Boutique has a gate at O'Hare that is in Terminal 3 right next to Spirit Airlines. They find that it's a pretty convenient location.

The Duncans also like that if they fly with United and a Boutique flight is delayed then the interline agreement means that staff of both airlines will work to book an alternate flight automatically, Kate Duncan said.

"That is definitely an advantage," she said.

Marti Armata, of Ironwood, and Vanessa Meide, of Ramsay, are the two co-leads, the Boutique term for airline managers. Both have experience working with other EAS providers and are returning to the role after time away doing other work.

Armata was a manager under Air Choice One and trained Meide to replace her when she left to work with her family when they bought the Dairy Queen in Bessemer.

"But I miss this," Armata said. "I was out here many years with different airlines from Midwest Connect to Great Lakes Airlines to Frontier Airlines to Air Choice One and now to Boutique," she said.

Meide said that the interline agreement that Boutique has with United is probably the biggest change that customers want and will notice. Passengers can now book a flight using the Boutique online scheduling platform for flights to and from Chicago and Minneapolis, but also with seamless connections and baggage transfer all the way through to final destinations on a major carrier airline. In the past, passengers would need to go through the re-boarding process and check in luggage themselves.

Boutique started service just two weeks after the airport completed a 45-day runway reconstruction. The airport will close for one week later this month to complete the work.