The Mammoth Lakes Town Council held a meeting on August 18 which included passing a motion which will effectively put planes in the air at Mammoth-Yosemite Airport (MMH) this coming winter.  

The Town of Mammoth Lakes will partner with Mammoth Lakes Tourism (MLT) to finance the service through the winter season. 

The partnership has agreed to a capped minimum revenue guarantee of $450,000 with Advanced Air.

MLT will cover the first $275,000, and the Town of Mammoth will reimburse MLT up to $175,000 (if the subsidy runs as high as $450,000), depending on where the numbers come in.

The Town of Mammoth has set aside a total of $200,000 towards the project, meaning it will have at least $25,000 left over to spend during MMH’s summer months; this includes allocating the unused money to assist in securing scheduled charter air service for the summer. 

However, according to John Urdi, Executive Director of MLT, the revenue for Advanced Air usually comes in at about half of the $450,000 limit, so chances are that the town of Mammoth will have most of its $200,000 left over to spend during the summer months. 

MLT’s support in the partnership is budgeted from Transient Occupancy Tax funds provided by the Town. 

One of the goals of the agreement is to expand charter service enough for MMH to reach 10,000 enplanements annually, which is the minimum number needed to reach the $1 million federal match offered by the FAA. 

This includes things such as re-striping, paving runways, and other general infrastructure improvements.

Although it will most likely take a couple of years to reach the 10,000 enplanement mark (because we’ve only had 12 years to market the airport so far), the town is hopeful that, through the agreement, that it will slowly but surely get closer. 

The motion for the agreement was introduced by John Wentworth, seconded by Kirk Stapp, and passed unanimously. 

MMH air service was disrupted in 2020 due to Covid-19. 

Winter service will start on November 24, 2021 and go through April 4, 2022. 

Service will be provided from the Hawthorne Airport (HHR), Burbank Airport (BUR), and McClellan-Palomar (Carlsbad) Airport (CLD) 4-6 days per week. There will be no TSA. Planes will be able to divert to Bishop if needed. 

Aircraft will be either 30-passenger (Dornier 318) or 9-passenger (King Air). The anticipated fares for a one-way ticket will be between $300-$350. A local discount will be offered, although the details for that are still being solidified. 

Car rental services will continue through either Enterprise or National. 14-passenger shuttles will also be offered, including door-to-door service. Pre-booking for shuttles is highly encouraged. 

For more information regarding flight schedules, visit: https://www.advancedairlines.com/flights-to-mammoth 

The much-anticipated commercial air service flying in and out of Bishop is set to begin on December 16, 2021 and flying daily through the end of March, 2022.

United Airlines will provide access to San Francisco, Denver, and Los Angeles via Bishop.

The airport is on track to receive a certification from the Federal Aviation Administration by the end of August, 2021. At that time, infrastructure improvements will begin on the property, including a plan is to erect a sprung structure, similar to the one at Mammoth-Yosemite but slightly larger as a passenger terminal. 

Life in the Sierra is IN TENTS!

There are plans to build a more permanent terminal building at the airport, but for the time being, having the airport up and running is the first priority. 

On a good year, the cancellation rate for flights to Mammoth Yosemite was about 8-12%. With the airport in Bishop, officials are looking to bring that number down to 2-3%.