Summary
- In 2020, American Eagle operated Dallas/Fort Worth-Eagle/Vail-Aspen-Montrose-Dallas/Fort Worth.
- While it did not last long, it existed to meet obligations under the CARES Act.
- The Eagle/Vail-Aspen leg was just 24 nautical miles (47 km).
Sometimes, the most intriguing routes are those that are less discussed. One example is American Airlines’ short-lived multi-hop service, which existed entirely because of the pandemic. Affectionately called the “mountain hopper,” it used American Eagle’s 65-seat SkyWest CRJ700s. The service was particularly notable because one of the legs was the USA’s shortest jet-operated service at the time. It was also American’s shortest service for 20 years, and possibly forever.
American Eagle’s mountain hopper
Between May 7 and June 1, 2020, American Eagle had a highly different and exciting operation, as shown below. It existed to satisfy the requirements of the US Department of Transportation’s minimum service obligations to get funding under the COVID-19-based CARES Act.
The relief package ensured the Colorado communities continued to be connected to Dallas/Fort Worth, America’s busiest hub and the country’s second-busiest airport, with all the connectivity that brings. I’d recommend reading this review by someone who flew it.
- Dallas/Fort Worth-Eagle/Vail: AA2986, 10:20-11:44
- Eagle/Vail-Aspen: AA2986, 12:15-12:50
- Aspen-Montrose: AA2986, 13:20-14:00
- Montrose-Dallas/Fort Worth: AA2986, 14:30-17:36
Image: GCMap
The shortest of the legs, Eagle/Vail to Aspen, was just 25 nautical miles (47 km) on a Great Circle basis. If the weather and exact routing played ball, the flight sometimes took less than 15 minutes. The block time was 35 minutes, a great example of how this includes everything: the flight, taxi time at each end, time for short delays, etc.
Why didn’t it last long?
It lasted less than a month, as the DOT gave the airline an exception from operating it. After all, some carriers appeared to operate unnecessarily just to get funding. At the same time, plans were afoot in specific markets to increase flying, particularly those related to leisure and/or the outdoors.
Dallas/Fort Worth-Eagle/Vail’s non-stop flights returned on June 4, three days after the multi-hop service ended. More significantly, non-stop flights also returned to Aspen and Montrose on the same day. Each of the three Colorado airports was served daily against the combined five weekly stopping service.
According to the US DOT T-100 data, American Eagle carried just 227 people between Eagle/Vail and Aspen for a 21% load factor. The traffic included passengers who originated in Dallas/Fort Worth, those who connected there, and those who flew the leg especially. It included those who continued to Montrose, to Dallas/Fort Worth, or beyond.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
Same or shorter-length jet flights
Various other extremely short jet-operated routes have existed over the years. They included Houston Intercontinental-Houston Hobby (Continental did use jets at times, e.g., in 2000), San Francisco-Oakland (in the 1990s), Chicago Midway-Chicago O’Hare (in the 1990s), and so on.
Using Cirium data to focus on 2004-2024 only indicates the following services existed. As always, distances are based on the Great Circle, so the order might differ if real-world distances were considered instead.
- 20 nautical miles (37 km): Newport News-Norfolk was served by US Airways Express’ 50-seat CRJ200s in 2007. The block time was 21 minutes. It seems that flights began in Philadelphia.
- 23 nautical miles (43 km): Lanai-Molokai by Hawaiian Airlines’ 717s until 2004. Served daily until early September that year, with a block time of 16 minutes.
- 25 nautical miles (45 km): Houston Intercontinental-Houston Ellington by United Express’ 37-seat ERJ135s and 50-seat ERJ145s. It existed until 2004, with up to five daily flights that year! The block time was usually under 30 minutes.
- 25 nautical miles (47 km): Eagle/Vail-Aspen in 2020