Boutique Air

Boutique Air, Inc. is a commuter airline based in San Francisco, California. The airline offers charter services as well as scheduled passenger services subsidized under the Essential Air Service (EAS) program. Boutique operates the second largest PC-12 fleet in the United States with 26 aircraft. In 2019. Boutique transported over 180,000 passengers across many EAS destinations.[2]

Boutique Air
IATA ICAO Callsign
4B BTQ BOUTIQUE
Founded2007
Commenced operations2014
AOC #2B5A106N[1]
HubsDenver International Airport
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
Fleet size33
Destinations30
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, U.S.
Key peopleShawn Simpson (CEO)

Matthew Butcher (Director of Operations)
Brian Kondrad (VP, Business Operations)
Daniel Lose (VP, Maintenance Operations)
Tom Warren (VP, Business Development)
Catherine Cheng (Director of Finance)
Peggy Goebe (Director of HR)
Bishara Habash (Director of Maintenance)
Victor Coke (Business Analyst)

Luke Tschantz (Director of Safety)
Websitewww.boutiqueair.com

History

The company was founded in 2007 by Shawn Simpson, an early employee of Google. It was originally an aviation technology company before it began acquiring a fleet of aircraft in 2012 through its holding company Targaryen LLC.[3] It operated on-demand charters, pilot training, and air patrol services for government sectors using Cessnas before purchasing Pilatus PC-12 aircraft to operate its passenger charter flights.[4][5]

In 2013, it received commuter air carrier authority from the United States Department of Transportation.[6] Its first scheduled service was operated 2013-2014 between Hawthorne Municipal Airport near Los Angeles and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. During that time, the company began submitting proposals to provide scheduled service to rural communities and regions under contract as part of the Essential Air Service program, and began its first flights between Clovis Municipal Airport in New Mexico and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in July 2014.[7][8][9] The carrier has expanded further in New Mexico to include airports in Carlsbad, Los Alamos, Albuquerque, and Silver City.[10][11] By the end of 2015, it flew 14 scheduled routes with an Essential Air Service airport destination.

In 2017, Boutique Air began a new car rental company, named Boutique Car. These services are typically used at locations without other car rental options and is being expanded across their route map. In 2019, the airline added three airplanes to its fleet and spent over $10,000 on marketing in Victoria, Texas leading to a 132% increase in passenger air traffic in that region.[12] In 2020, United Airlines announced that Boutique Air will be a partner airline for its new United Aviate program.[13] Boutique is the first commuter airline and part 135 operator to have a flow-through program with a legacy carrier.

Corporate affairs

The headquarters are at Suite 925 of 53rd Street, San Francisco.[14]

The headquarters were previously at 340 Pine Street,[15] and later in the Flatiron Building.[16]

Destinations

Boutique Air serves the following destinations:

City Airport IATA Code Destinations Notes
Alabama
Muscle Shoals Northwest Alabama Regional Airport MSL Atlanta
Nashville
Pensacola		 EAS Community
Arizona
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport PHX Cortez
Prescott (begins February 15, 2021)
Show Low
Prescott Ernest A. Love Field PRC Phoenix (begins February 15, 2021)
Show Low Show Low Regional Airport SOW Phoenix EAS Community
California
Los Angeles Los Angeles International Airport LAX Merced
Palm Springs
Merced Merced Municipal Airport MCE Sacramento
Los Angeles		 EAS Community
Palm Springs Palm Springs International Airport PSP Los Angeles
Sacramento Sacramento International Airport SMF Merced
Colorado
Cortez Cortez Municipal Airport CEZ Denver
Phoenix		 EAS Community | Boutique Car Location
Denver Denver International Airport DEN Chadron
Cortez
McCook		 Hub
Florida
Pensacola Pensacola International Airport PNS Muscle Shoals
Georgia
Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport ATL Muscle Shoals
Illinois
Chicago Chicago-O'Hare International Airport ORD Ironwood
Maryland
Baltimore Baltimore–Washington International Airport BWI Altoona
Massena
Norfolk/Virginia Beach
Massachusetts
Boston Boston Logan International Airport BOS Massena
Michigan
Ironwood Gogebic-Iron County Airport IWD Chicago-O'Hare
Minneapolis-St. Paul		 EAS Community | Boutique Car Location
Minnesota
Minneapolis Minneapolis/St Paul International Airport MSP Ironwood
Mississippi
Greenville Mid Delta Regional Airport GLH Dallas
Nashville		 EAS Community | Boutique Car Location
Nebraska
Chadron Chadron Municipal Airport CDR Denver
Rapid City (begins February 15, 2021)		 EAS Community
McCook McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport MCK Denver EAS Community
New Mexico
Albuquerque Albuquerque International Sunport ABQ Carlsbad
Carlsbad Cavern City Air Terminal CNM Albuquerque
Dallas
El Paso (begins February 2, 2021)[17]		 EAS Community | Boutique Car Location
New York
Massena Massena International Airport MSS Baltimore[18]
Boston		 EAS Community | Boutique Car Location
Pennsylvania
Altoona Altoona–Blair County Airport AOO Baltimore
Pittsburgh		 EAS Community | Boutique Car Location
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh International Airport PIT Altoona
Oregon
Redmond/Bend Roberts Field RDM Portland
Pendleton Eastern Oregon Regional Airport PDT Portland EAS Community | Boutique Car Location
Portland Portland International Airport PDX Redmond
Pendleton		 Operates in a private terminal; complimentary shuttle offered to main terminal.[19] | Boutique Car Location
South Dakota
Rapid City Rapid City Regional Airport RAP Chadron (begins February 15, 2021) Non-subsidized service[20]
Tennessee
Nashville Nashville International Airport BNA Greenville
Muscle Shoals
Texas
Dallas/Fort Worth Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport DFW Carlsbad
Greenville		 Hub | Operates in DFW's Corporate Aviation Terminal;[21] complimentary shuttle offered to all terminals and rental car center.
El Paso El Paso International Airport ELP Carlsbad (begins February 2, 2021) Non-subsidized service[22][23]
Virginia
Norfolk/Virginia Beach Norfolk International Airport ORF Baltimore

Former destinations
City Airport IATA Code Destinations Notes
California
Hawthorne Hawthorne Municipal Airport HHR Las Vegas
Inyokern Inyokern Airport IYK Los Angeles Ended due to low demand[24]
Oakland Oakland International Airport OAK Merced Ended due to low demand, changed to daily Sacramento service.[25]
Colorado
Alamosa San Luis Valley Regional Airport ALS Denver EAS Community | Former Boutique Car Location | Contract extended due to airport failure to complete part 139 certification.[26] | SkyWest awarded contract, and began service November 1, 2020
Telluride Telluride Regional Airport TEX Cortez (Seasonal)
Denver (Seasonal)
Kansas
Dodge City Dodge City Regional Airport DDC Denver EAS Community | Skywest awarded contract
Minnesota
Thief River Falls Thief River Falls Regional Airport TVF Minneapolis-St. Paul EAS Community | Former Boutique Car Location | Denver Air Connection awarded contract
Nebraska
Alliance Alliance Municipal Airport AIA Denver Ended May 31 | EAS Community | Former Boutique Car Location | Denver Air Connection awarded contract[27]
New Mexico
Clovis Clovis Municipal Airport CVN Dallas EAS Community | Former Boutique Car Location | Operated on the King Air 350 | Denver Air Connection awarded contract
Los Alamos Los Alamos County Airport LAM Albuquerque Former EAS Community | Lack of enplanements, community decided to designate Santa Fe Regional Airport for passenger service
Silver City Grant County Airport SVC Albuquerque
Phoenix		 EAS Community | Former Boutique Car Location | Advanced Air won contract against public preference.[28][29]
New York
Albany Albany International Airport ALB Massena Changed Massena service to focus on daily Boston flights[30]
Nevada
Henderson Henderson Executive Airport HSH Hawthorne
Merced
Phoenix		 Ended due to demand for McCarran service[31]
Pennsylvania
Johnstown Johnstown–Cambria County Airport JST Baltimore
Pittsburgh		 EAS Community | Johnstown is a maintenance base for Boutique's Northeast operations, employing over twenty locals from the community[32] | SkyWest awarded contract[33]
Texas
Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport IAH Victoria
Victoria Victoria Regional Airport VCT Dallas-Fort Worth
Houston-Intercontinental		 EAS Community | SkyWest awarded contract
Utah
Moab Canyonlands Field CNY Denver
Salt Lake City		 EAS Community | SkyWest awarded contract[34]
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City International Airport SLC Moab
Vernal
Vernal Vernal Regional Airport VEL Denver
Salt Lake City		 EAS Community | SkyWest awarded contract[34]
Virginia
Washington Washington Dulles International Airport IAD Massena Changed Massena service to focus on daily Boston flights.[30]

Boutique Car

In 2017, Boutique started a new rental car service called 'Boutique Car'. This service provides ground transportation options for communities that have no other options and compliments Boutique's EAS proposals. Seven locations currently utilize this service:[35]

  • Altoona, PA
  • Carlsbad, NM
  • Cortez, CO
  • Greenville, MS
  • Ironwood, MI
  • Massena, NY
  • Pendleton, OR
  • Portland, OR

United Airlines

Boutique Air announced a new codeshare agreement with United Airlines on May 23, 2018.[36] Customers can book their entire itinerary under a single reservation for through ticketing and baggage transfer to their final destination. MileagePlus members can earn miles on eligible Boutique Air flights. Since Boutique has a codeshare with United Airlines, passengers with United Club memberships can access the lounge even if they are not flying with United.

American Airlines

In December 2018, Boutique launched a new interline agreement with American Airlines.[37] Similar to the codeshare with United, customers can book all flights under a single reservation for flow through ticketing and baggage transfers to their final destination.

United Aviate

In 2020, United Airlines launched a new flow-through program called United Aviate. The Aviate Experience Build Entry Point, allows for current and recently hired Boutique Air pilots to enter the program.[38] Afterwards, there is an evaluation process that includes employment history, panel interviews, technical skill inventory and a personality and cultural fit inventory.[39] Once accepted into the program, pilots will have access to travel privileges, site tours, development events, coaching, United leadership interaction, and a direct path to United Airlines. When the applicant has earned their ATP certificate, they can transition to one of the United Express Aviate partners. The choices include Air Wisconsin, CommutAir and Mesa Airlines. Once the minimum service requirements with United Express are met, the applicant will be eligible to transition to a First Officer position with United.

In-Flight Experience

Boutique's PC-12 are set-up in an eight-passenger executive configuration with individual seats that can slide, swivel, and recline. Additionally, there is a forward lav that is best suited for emergencies only.[2] The aircraft also has in seat power at each seat to charge up electronic devices. Additional sound proofing installed by Boutique makes the cabin quieter than many commercial aircraft.[40]

Fleet
Boutique Air Pilatus PC-12

Boutique Air operates the following fleet:[41]

Aircraft In Fleet Orders Passengers Notes
Pilatus PC-12-45 12 0 8
Pilatus PC-12-47 14 0 8
Beechcraft King Air 300 5 0 9
Piaggio P180 2 0 7 Standby Aircraft
Total 33 0

Incidents and Accidents
Date Flight Number Information
23 April 2020 BTQ902 Pilatus PC-12 registration N477SS was departing from Dallas/Ft. Worth when the pilot reported an engine problem. Finally diverting to Mesquite Metro, the aircraft crash landed short of Runway 18. The sole pilot on board received serious injuries and the airplane was damaged beyond repair.[42][43]
21 January 2021 BTQ835 Pilatus PC-12 registration N451SS was approaching Chicago O'Hare Airport as flight 4B835 when it lost the left main landing gear tire. The tire landed in Jefferson Park, a neighborhood just East of the airport. No one was injured and the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.[44]

References
  1. "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  2. Huber, Mark. "Boutique Air Grows With PC-12s". Aviation International News. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
  3. "TARGARYEN LLC - SAN FRANCISCO, CA - CESSNA T337F - N1741M - Fixed Wing Multi Engine". whoseplane.com. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  4. "Boutique Air - Boutique Air Pilatus | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  5. "United States Department of Transportation Request for Information" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  6. "Order 2012-11-32 Served: November 29, 2012 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHI" (PDF). webcache.googleusercontent.com. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  7. Deppen, Colin. Bradford Airport carrier service contracts re-bid, The Bradford Era, May 29, 2014, retrieved 2014-07-16
  8. Leeds, Kim. Cape Air to take over Montana Essential Air Service flights, Havre Daily News, September 6, 2013, Retrieved 2014-07-16
  9. Kahin, Vanessa. Municipal flights to Dallas/Fort Worth begin, Clovis News Journal, July 15, 2014, retrieved 2014-07-16
  10. Dunlap, Susan. Boutique Air announces flights to Albuquerque Archived December 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Silver City Sun-News, December 25, 2014, Retrieved 2014-12-29
  11. Onsurez, Jessica and Katie England. Airport: Carlsbad now connected to Dallas/Fort Worth Archived 2015-05-22 at the Wayback Machine, Carlsbad Current-Argus, April 28, 2015, Retrieved 2015-04-28
  12. Weaver, Emree (2019-04-14). "Boutique Air executive gives overview of Victoria operations". The Victoria Advocate. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  13. "United Airlines Becomes First US Carrier to Open Its Own Flight School". TravelPulse. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  14. "Contact". Boutique Air. Retrieved 2019-06-09. CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS: Boutique Air, Inc. 5 3rd Street Suite 925 San Francisco, CA 94103
  15. "Contact Us." Boutique Air. March 25, 2012. Retrieved on June 9, 2019. "Boutique Air, Inc. 340 Pine Street, Suite 503 San Francisco, CA 94104"
  16. "Contact Us." Boutique Air. Retrieved on June 4, 2015. "Boutique Air, Inc. 548 Market Street ste 73298 San Francisco, CA 94104"
  17. Onsurez, Jessica. "Boutique Air announces Cavern City flights headed to El Paso, Texas". Carlsbad Current-Argus. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  18. Benman, Keith. "Boutique Air has adds Massena to Baltimore flight". www.wwnytv.com. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  19. "Boutique Air - Airport 181". www.boutiqueair.com. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  20. "Exclusive: Boutique Air Announces Three New Destinations". AirlineGeeks.com. 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  21. "Boutique Air - Airport 1414". www.boutiqueair.com. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  22. Parker, Jim (2021-01-30). "El Paso International Airport lands new airline serving Carlsbad, Albuquerque". KVIA. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  23. "Exclusive: Boutique Air Announces Three New Destinations". AirlineGeeks.com. 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  24. Barnwell, Jack. "Bye-bye Boutique: Airport board votes to terminate short-lived air service". Ridgecrest Daily Independent - Ridgecrest, CA. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  25. "Boutique Air adds Merced – Sacramento service from mid-May 2019". Routesonline. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  26. "Regulations.gov". www.regulations.gov. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  27. Ledger, KAY BAKKEHAUG Hemingford. "Ready for Take-off: New Airline Prepares for Takeover in Alliance". starherald.com. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  28. "Boutique Air complains of unfair EAS at Silver City, NM". ch-aviation. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  29. "Advanced Air to take over at Grant County Airport | Silver City Daily Press". Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  30. "Boutique Air - News 270". www.boutiqueair.com. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  31. "Boutique Air - News 169". www.boutiqueair.com. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  32. bsiwy@ourtownjohnstown, BRUCE SIWY. "SkyWest selected to replace Boutique at Johnstown airport". Daily American. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  33. rgriffith@tribdem.com, Randy Griffith. "SkyWest lands Johnstown airport contract". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  34. "SkyWest awarded EAS at Moab and Vernal, Utah". ch-aviation. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  35. "Boutique Air". www.boutiquecar.com. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  36. "Boutique Air - News 271". www.boutiqueair.com. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  37. "FAQ". www.boutiqueair.com. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  38. "United Airlines Pilot Careers and Programs". www.airlineapps.com. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  39. "United Aviate". United Aviate. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  40. "Our aircraft". www.boutiqueair.com. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
  41. "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". Av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  42. "FAA Accident and Incident Notification: BTQ902". www.asias.faa.gov. 2020-04-24. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  43. "Aviation Safety Network report on BTQ902 crash". Aviation Safety Network. 2020-04-23. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  44. https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2021/01/21/wheel-falls-off-small-plane-lands-in-jefferson-park-neighborhood/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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