Denver Air Connection will soon be operating 11 routes connecting 12 US airports

Denver Air Connection (IATA code KG) is a subsidiary of Colorado-based Key Lime Air. It operates a fleet of seven aircraft according to planespotters.net; three 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145s, three 30-seat Dornier Do-328JETs and an Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia. It recently replaced Boutique Air in offering 6-weekly service from Ironwood in North Michigan to both Chicago ORD and Minneapolis/St. Paul. In total, by the end of the year, the airline will be serving 12 airports and operating 11 routes, all of which connect major hubs with relatively small airports. Denver Air Connection serves five major hubs and seven local airports. The airline’s complete network comprises the following (frequencies are for w/c 18 October 2021):

• Chicago (ORD) to Ironwood (IWD), 536km, 6-weekly;
• Chicago (ORD) to Watertown (ATY), 816km, 6-weekly, launched 1 July 2021;
• Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Clovis (CVN), 584km, 6-weekly, begins 1 November;
• Denver (DEN) to Alliance (AIA), 290km, 12-weekly;
• Denver (DEN) to Clovis (CVN), 620km, 12-weekly;
• Denver (DEN) to Pierre (PIR), 620km, 12-weekly, launched 1 July 2021;
• Denver (DEN) to Telluride (TEL), 348km, 7-weekly;
• Denver (DEN) to Watertown (ATY), 835km, 6-weekly, launched 1 July 2021;
• Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) to Ironwood (IWD), 301km, 6-weekly;
• Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) to Thief River Falls (TVF), 420km, 12-weekly;
• Phoenix (PHX) to Telluride (TEX), 626km, 7-weekly, begins 15 December.

At Alliance, Clovis, Ironwood, Telluride and Thief River Falls, Denver Air Connection is the only carrier offering scheduled services. At Pierre and Watertown in South Dakota, competition on the airline’s routes comes from United’s partner airline SkyWest. It seems SkyWest was unhappy at losing its EAS (Essential Air Services) contract earlier in the year and has decided to continue operating the routes without subsidy.