MONEY FLIES!
Published in the November 15, 2025 issue.
This winter, United Airlines will add three to four additional flights per week from the Bishop Airport, totaling 79 extra flights over the course of the four-month winter season.
This increase in flights will make it easier for locals and visitors to travel to and from the area, which otherwise lacks a commercial airport within 150 miles and does not offer commercial flights during the off seasons.
Inyo County is working toward year-round commerical flights, but according to Mammoth Lakes Tourism (MLT) CEO John Urdi, this would be costly and may not be feasible.
Both United Airlines and Advanced Air, a seasonal charter service based out of Mammoth Airport, rely on a Minimum Revenue Guarantee (MRG). This financial safety net ensures the airlines are guaranteed a specified amount of revenue, even if ticket sales don’t meet expectations.
“The airlines are concerned that they can provide the service and lose a ton of money,” Ashely Helms, Inyo County Public Works Deputy Director, told the Sheet on Wednesday.
Each year, that shortfall is covered by a partnership between MLT, the Town of Mammoth Lakes (TOML), Inyo County, and Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (MMSA). Inyo County does not contribute to the Advanced Air MRGs because its flights do not fly in or out of Bishop.
In the past, MLT has contracted directly with the airlines. MLT then makes yearly “cautionary agreements,” Helms said, with TOML, Inyo County, and MMSA for reimbursement. But last February, the four parties joined together to draft a new, consolidated cost sharing agreement for Bishop Regional Airport to distribute United’s MRG costs and establish funding caps for the contributing parties.
The goal of this initial document was three fold: to work towards providing year-round air service in Bishop, to provide transparency by stating how much each entity is paying, and to create a longer-term agreement, rather than year-to-year deals.
In October, Helms presented a final version of this contract to the Inyo County Board of Supervisors.
Under the agreement, MLT will contribute up to $1.75 million annually, mainly from TBID revenue, while Inyo County and TOML will each pay up to $200,000 from general funds. Any remaining costs beyond these amounts will be the responsibility of MMSA, with no cap on its contribution.
This is largely in line with the previous funding structure, but the consolidated contract allows for better interagency communication and transparency.
“Some years [MMSA] can pay nothing. Others it can be three to four million,” Urdi said.
The Inyo County Board of Supervisors approved the contract on Oct. 21, and MLT and MMSA approved it soon after. The Mammoth Lakes Council is agendized to consider the item next Wednesday night, and if it passes, the MRG contract change will be set into motion.
The airlines do not publicly disclose the monetary value of their MRGs, but The Sheet estimates the United MRGs range from $2-3 million every year.
“United is a private company. They don’t even like me talking about this,” Urdi said.
Inyo County Supervisor Jen Roeser supported the motion, but asked staff to include an itemized report of how much the other agencies were billed for invoices going forward. “We need to figure out a way to pay the minimum amount we can,” she said.
The contract also noted the “parties’ desire for year-round air service to be provided at Bishop Airport,” but stated the document must be reviewed before any expansion such as new routes or more flights.
“Year-round is really tough, we don’t have the population base to fill the seats,” Urdi said. “Instead we’ll likely beef up the winter capacity.”
“We’ll likely see an expansion of flights into the shoulder seasons next year,” Helms said. She disagreed with Urdi –– she does think year-round air service is possible –– but she’s not exactly sure when these flights would be scheduled.
United currently offers twice-daily summer flights from Bishop to Denver and San Francisco, while Advanced Air, a private charter airline, flies from Mammoth Yosemite Airport to Carlsbad and Hawthorne-LA from Thursday through Sunday.
This winter, United will resume flights to San Francisco on Dec. 11 and to Denver on Dec. 18. Advanced Air will restart its seasonal service to both Hawthorne and Carlsbad on Wednesday, Nov. 26, just in time for Thanksgiving.
In the future, Bishop municipal airport could offer American Air flights to Dallas and Delta flights to Salt Lake City. But for now, Urdi is encouraged by the relationship with United.
“The support from United going into this winter is huge.”
