While sky-high fuel prices made the flights more expensive than hoped, Cody airport boosters say this summer’s service to Chicago was a success.

Flights between the two windy cities were offered once a week from May 22 to Sept. 19; a total of 1,740 passengers hopped aboard.

“We had a lot of people use it, it’s been really great for the community … and it’s created a huge momentum moving forward in discussions with other airlines,” Yellowstone Regional Airport Executive Director Aaron Buck said at a Sept. 9 airport board meeting.

For the past several years, the Cody airport has only offered commercial flights to Denver and airport boosters have been working to expand service.

The nonprofit Cody Yellowstone Air Improvement Resources (CYAIR) was able to convince United Airlines to provide the seasonal connection to Chicago this year by offering a “minimum revenue guarantee.” Specifically, CYAIR agreed to pay United up to $191,798 if revenue from the 36 flights fell below a certain amount.

There was hope the Chicago flight would prove popular enough that CYAIR wouldn’t have to pay out the full amount. After getting off to a slow start in May, Buck said the route drew more passengers in June, July and particularly August. The average plane wound up 69% full.

Overall, CYAIR said the revenue generated from ticket sales was in-line with its expectations, but the math was thrown off by rocketing fuel prices. Given the spiking rates, each flight needed to generate about $55,000 in revenue instead of the $35,000 that airport officials had expected, Buck said; he called that “a number that was unattainable by our goals.”

In paying the full guarantee, CYAIR spent about $110 per passenger. Roughly 74% of the funds — or about $141,700 overall — was provided by state and local governments.

A first step

In a Friday news release, CYAIR said new routes often take two to three years to mature and reach steady revenue. 

“The Chicago flight was a successful step and proves Cody’s ability to handle larger planes with premium class seating and has laid the foundation for further discussions around expanding air service with other carriers,” CYAIR Chair Dusty Spomer said in a statement.

As one specific example, the organization said that United has already expressed interest in continuing the Cody-Chicago route.

CYAIR and YRA leaders have said their ultimate goal is to get regular service to another hub beyond Denver, such as Salt Lake City. However, that will almost certainly require a much larger revenue guarantee, perhaps in the $1 million range.

CYAIR said it’s turning its attention to raising funds for 2027 air service.

Boardings up slightly

With the addition of the Chicago route, departures and arrivals at YRA have been up a bit this year. Following an exceptionally busy August, the 25,252 boardings logged in the first nine months of the year represent a slight bump (1.5%) from the same point in 2025.

Corey Field, who manages Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty car rentals at the Cody airport, said that “everything is staying fairly consistent.”

“I think that the people who travel to Cody are still doing that, and I’m not really seeing a lot of gains,” Field reported at the Sept. 9 YRA meeting. He said Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport continues to draw customers away from Cody and Billings.

Making Cody’s case

At a Sept. 17 Park County Travel Council meeting, Buck made a case for flying through YRA, pushing back on the local perception that “you may not get out” on a flight from Cody. While roughly 4% of the airport’s flights were scrapped in 2025 and only 50%-60% arrived on-time, Buck said the performance has improved significantly this year.

In April, May and June, 100% of flights were completed, followed by 99.2% in July and 96.9% in August, he said; additionally, 82.1% of flights were on-time in July and the other months featured percentages in the high 70s.

An airport-commissioned engineering study has allowed planes to land under less favorable weather conditions, and Buck said United is “doing their part and improving as well.”

The YRA board also recently hired a new air service consultant, Volare Aviation, to help boost its commercial service. The Indiana-based firm will receive a smaller base fee than the outgoing consultant, with bonuses available if Volare can help secure new routes for YRA, according to board members’ comments.

“They’re excited to get with us and help us move forward in our momentum that we’ve created with this Chicago flight,” Buck said.