TVC: California Here We Come
Seasonal flight service from Northern Michigan to two of California’s busiest airports through United Airlines will take flight next summer.
Direct flights between Cherry Capital Airport (TVC) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) will begin June 19. The new air service was announced late Thursday morning by airport CEO Kevin Klein and the Northwest Regional Airport Authority Board (pictured above) at a special meeting.
“These routes represent much more than two destinations,” Klein says. “They represent expanded opportunities for residents, greater convenience for travelers, a strong tourism economy, increased business connectivity and transformational investment for the future of Northern Michigan.”
The flights will run on Saturdays to and from both cities from June 19 through Sept. 11, with Wednesday flights on June 30 and July 7, and Sept. 1 and 8. The flights will depart the West Coast cities at just after 8 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) and arrive in Traverse City in late afternoon before reloading and heading back to California.
Both routes will utilize Boeing 737-800 jets, which seat around 160 passengers.
Klein said the new flights will also establish flight connections to all seven United mainline hub airports in the U.S. TVC will be the only Michigan airport linked yo all seven United hubs, and one of just 23 airports around the country and 30 airports worldwide.
“For a community of our size, the level of connectivity is just extraordinary,” Klein added. “It’s remarkable for Northern Michigan.”
TVC officials in September announced a 3-year, $750,000 federal Small Community Air Service Development Program grant award to support a TVC flight connection to either Los Angeles or San Francisco thropugh United. Local officials were surprised when the airline committed to both flights, which Klein suspects was tied to strong passenger connections from both cities to Northern Michigan from connecting flights through Chicago and Denver.
“I think when they looked at the volume of California travel here connecting through Denver and Chicago, they saw the potential for the service from both cities,” Klein says.
The new flights will add to United’s growing market share of TVC travel. The Chicago-based airline is Cherry Capital’s busiest carrier – handling about 44 percent of the airport’s passenger load in September. United passenger growth at TVC has soared more than 140 percent since 2019. United presently offers year-round service to Chicago, and seasonal flights to Denver, Newark, Washington D.C. and Houston.
“In just a few years United has more than doubled its presence in Northern Michigan,” Klein says. “That level of investment is a powerful vote of confidence in our community and our future.”
The grant award includes a quarter-million dollar marketing commitment from local partners to help promote the new air service, including $100,000 each from TVC and Traverse City Tourism, and $50,000 from Traverse Connect.
Warren Call, CEO of Traverse Connect, said the new service “connects Northern Michigan directly to two of the nation’s
most-influential economic centers” as global gateways for technology, innovation, advanced manufacturing, aerospace, agriculture and more.
“We’re creating opportunities for local businesses to reach new customers, forge new partnerships and attract new investment,” Call says. “Strong air service supports workforce development, business attraction, business retention, tourism, entrepreneurship and regional prosperity for all of us.”
United officials also said the new flights will expand travel options for local travelers to Asia and other global cities.
"These flights open up convenient access to the West Coast and destinations around the world through one-stop connections from our hubs in SFO and LAX," Mark Weithofer, United's Director of Domestic Network Planning, said in a media release.