Ernest A. Love Field

Prescott Regional Airport, Ernest A. Love Field (IATA: PRC[2], ICAO: KPRC, FAA LID: PRC) is 8 miles (7.0 nmi; 13 km) north of Prescott, in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States.[1] Love Field is used for general aviation and facilitates scheduled passenger airline service to Denver, Los Angeles and Phoenix.

Prescott Regional Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Prescott
ServesPrescott, Arizona
LocationPrescott, Arizona
Elevation AMSL5,045 ft / 1,538 m
Coordinates34°39′16″N 112°25′11″W
Websitewww.prcairport.com
Map
PRC
PRC
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
3R/21L 7,616 2,321 Asphalt
3L/21R 4,848 1,478 Asphalt
12/30 4,408 1,344 Asphalt
Statistics (2011)
Aircraft operations244,080
Based aircraft232

Most traffic at PRC is training flights from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University but includes training flights from operations including Guidance Aviation and North-Aire.

Namesake

The airport is named for Ernest A. Love (1895–1918), First Lieutenant, United States Army Air Service. Love was born in New Mexico and raised in Prescott. He was a graduate of Prescott High School, and studied mechanical engineering at Stanford. He served in World War I and was shot down near Verdun, France on 16 September 1918, and died of his wounds as a prisoner of war a few days later. Lieutenant Love is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[3] The hamlet of Love, Arizona is also named for him.[4]

Facilities

Ernest A. Love Field covers 760 acres (310 ha) at an elevation of 5,045 ft (1,538 m). It has three asphalt runways:

  • 3R/21L measuring 7,619 ft × 150 ft (2,322 m × 46 m)
  • 3L/21R measuring 4,846 ft × 60 ft (1,477 m × 18 m)
  • 12/30 measuring 4,408 ft × 75 ft (1,344 m × 23 m)[1]

Plans to extend Runway 3R/21L and Runway 3L/21R were mentioned in the latest master plan update in 2009. The extension onto Runway 3R/21L would be more than 3,300 feet and the extension onto Runway 3L/21R would be more than 1,300 feet.

In the year ending March 31, 2011 the airport had 244,080 aircraft operations, average 668 per day: 98.2% general aviation, 1.6% air taxi, <1% military, and <1% airline. 232 aircraft were then based at this airport: 89% single-engine, 8% multi-engine, 1% helicopter, 1% jet, and <1% glider.[1]

Terminal

In 2019, the City of Prescott received a $10 million Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant for construction of a new terminal building. The building will also be funded with $1 million from the state of Arizona and $3.5 million of local funds. The new building will have more space for passengers, security, and airline operations. The existing building is considered "antiquated and undersized". Construction is expected to begin before the end of 2019.[5]

Airline and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Boutique Air Phoenix (begins February 15, 2021)[6]
United Express Denver, Los Angeles[7]

Cargo

AirlinesDestinationsRefs
AmeriflightKingman, Phoenix-Sky Harbor[8]

Historical Airline Service

The first airline flights at Prescott were TWA DC-3s in late 1947.

2008–2018

Great Lakes Airlines served the airport since 2008, when Mesa Airlines terminated their agreement. Although Great Lakes over the last few years ran into staffing issues due to the nationwide pilot shortage, Prescott has always been one of their top destinations. In 2016, the company turned itself around and was able to pull out of its staffing problems by signing a contract with Frontier Airlines to agree to employ their pilots after they have completed a required employment period with Great Lakes first. The company currently flies to Los Angeles and Phoenix. The company cut back on the destinations it served so it could dramatically increase reliability and staffing abilities towards its profitable airports. Prescott in November received the first of several planned upgrades by the company.[9] Great Lakes increased its total round trip daily flights to/from Los Angeles from two flights a day to four. On December 17, 2016 part two of the upgrade plan took place, which included bringing in a larger aircraft, an Embraer EMB-120, which included 30 seats, restroom facilities and flight attendant service. The company has also leased a corporate maintenance hangar on the airfield and plans to employ a full-time aircraft mechanic to turn Prescott into a west coast maintenance hub. Finally, the airline resumed flying to Denver, CO twice per week with one stop in Farmington, New Mexico. In 2017, Great Lakes reverted to two flights per day to Los Angeles and two flights per week to Denver using Beech 1900D aircraft. On March 26, 2018, Great Lakes Airlines ceased operations, terminating all scheduled flights from Ernest A. Love Field.

2018–present

On July 17, 2018, United Airlines announced service from Ernest A. Love Field to Denver and Los Angeles with each running a daily flight, which began on August 29, 2018.[7] United Airlines service is operated by SkyWest Airlines dba United Express operating 50 seat Bombardier CRJ-200 jet aircraft. Boutique Air added Phoenix service to their schedule and plans to begin service on February 15, 2021.[10]

Historical

The following is a list of all known air carriers that have served Prescott. Most of these airlines provided flights to Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Statistics

Enplanement totals

Year Passengers Year Passengers
2000 6,337 2010 7,836
2001 3,980 2011 5,159
2002 4,861 2012 5,152
2003 4,786 2013 5,223
2004 7,014 2014 3,862
2005 5,020 2015 3,428
2006 3,780 2016 3,451
2007 4,165 2017 5,888
2008 5,816 2018 10,337
2009 11,668 2019 27,730
Carrier shares: (August 2019 – July 2020)[11]
Carrier Passengers (arriving and departing)
SkyWest
37,080(100%)
Top domestic destinations: (August 2019 – July 2020)
Rank City Airport name & IATA code Passengers Carriers
1 Denver Denver International Airport (DEN) 11,050 United Express
2 Los Angeles Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) 7,570 United Express

See also

References

Other sources

  • Essential Air Service documents (Docket DOT-OST-1996-1899) from the U.S. Department of Transportation:
    • Order 2005-3-16 (March 9, 2005): selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide essential air service at Kingman, Prescott, Page, and Show Low for a new two-year period, at a combined first-year subsidy of $3,840,959, and a combined second-year subsidy of $3,854,958.
    • Order 2007-6-10 (June 13, 2007): selecting Mesa Air Group, Inc. d/b/a Air Midwest to provide subsidized essential air service at Kingman and Prescott, Arizona, for two years, beginning when the carrier full service. Service will consist of three round trips a day (18 per week) with 19-seat Beech 1900D aircraft over a Kingman Prescott Phoenix or Prescott Kingman Las Vegas routing, at a total annual subsidy of $1,798,489 for both communities.
    • Order 2008-6-11 (June 10, 2008): selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide essential air service at Kingman and Prescott, Arizona, for a two-year period beginning when the carrier inaugurates full service at both communities at a combined annual subsidy of $2,898,490.
    • Order 2011-3-4 (March 1, 2011): re-selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide essential air service at Kingman, Page, Prescott, and Show Low, Arizona for the two-year period from May 1, 2011, to April 30, 2013, for a combined annual subsidy of $5,596,114.
    • Order 2013-6-1 (June 3, 2013): re-selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide Essential Air Service at Kingman, Page, Prescott, and Show Low, Arizona, for the two-year period from May 1, 2013, through April 30, 2015, for a combined annual subsidy of $7,873,533. Subsidy for Prescott: $2,094,235. Routing: PRC-LAX nonstop and/or DEN one-stop. Weekly Frequency: 18. Aircraft: Beechcraft 1900D. Seats: 19.


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