Podcast: Yellowstone Regional Airport Update – February 2026

Episode: Yellowstone Regional Airport Update – February 2026
Host: Janet Jones, Owner & CEO, Cody Journal
Guests:

• Aaron Buck — Director, Yellowstone Regional Airport
• Heather Mortensen — Chair, Yellowstone Regional Airport Joint Powers Board

Episode Overview

In one of Cody Journal’s most commented-on topics, Janet sits down with Yellowstone Regional Airport (YRA) Director Aaron Buck and new Joint Powers Board Chair Heather Mortensen to answer community questions about the airport — from early morning flights and Denver delays to the big question on everyone’s mind: when is Delta coming back?

What’s Covered

Early Morning Flights

The community has long asked for an early departure that allows travelers to make connections in Denver. Good news: a 6:30 a.m. flight launched January 4th, giving passengers time to catch coast-to-coast connections out of Denver. The early flight will pause in late March and return in late May as a 5:15 a.m. departure — early enough to catch every morning connection out of Denver — running through the summer season.

Denver Delays & On-Time Performance

Delays last summer were driven by a combination of overlapping United and Southwest flight banks plus two runways under construction at DIA. United has since restructured its schedule by shifting banks to space flights out, and construction impacts are not expected to repeat. On-time performance has improved steadily since summer 2024.

The Departure Study — Big News for Cody

Cody’s airport sits in a bowl surrounded by mountains, which has historically restricted how much weight an aircraft can carry out — meaning airlines hold back 4–6 unsold seats per flight as a safety buffer. The YRA Joint Powers Board hired outside consultants to develop improved arrival and departure procedures for both runways. The new procedures have been approved by the FAA and are scheduled for publication on March 19th (or April 16th at the latest). Once SkyWest completes their own analysis using the new numbers, Cody should see meaningful improvements by summer, including:

• Fewer weight restriction delays
• Release of the 4-6 seats previously held back

How SkyWest & United Work Together

Cody is served under the Essential Air Service (EAS) program from October through May — a federal program that subsidizes air service to smaller communities. SkyWest won the most recent EAS contract to operate flights here under the United banner. (Fun fact: SkyWest also operates flights for Delta, American, and Alaska Airlines under their respective flags.) The previous regional carrier had a less-than-flattering nickname in the community — Erin kept that one off the record.

Parking Fees — Not Anytime Soon

Charging for parking has come up as a potential revenue stream as the airport works toward financial self-sustainment (the annual ask from the city and county has been cut from ~$500K pre-COVID to ~$200K today). However, because the FAA helped fund the parking lot, the airport cannot charge for parking until that agreement period expires. The earliest possible window would be 2027, and even then, a cost-benefit analysis and potential repayment to the FAA would be required.

How the Joint Powers Board Works

The Yellowstone Regional Airport is jointly owned by the City of Cody and Park County — hence the “Joint Powers” Board. Board members are appointed by either the city or the county, serve rotating terms, and must interview for reappointment. Heather notes the board actively seeks members with diverse backgrounds in business, customer service, and operations, and isn’t shy about calling in subject matter experts when needed.

Chicago Flight Returns This Summer

After three years of working with United to restore the route, direct service from Chicago O’Hare to Cody is back for summer 2026 — 18 flights in total. The schedule runs May 22nd through September 19th:

• Inbound: Departs Chicago ~4:25 p.m., arrives Cody ~6:45 p.m. (Fridays)
• Outbound: Departs Cody ~8:45 a.m., arrives Chicago ~12:55 p.m. (Saturdays)

The flight will operate on the Embraer E175 — a 70-seat aircraft with first class and economy plus seating. This is also a strategic opportunity: Delta has said they want to see premium market demand before returning to Cody. Booking those premium seats on the Chicago flight this summer helps build that case for 2027.

Bringing Delta Back

Delta’s return to Cody is the community’s most-requested ask, and there’s genuine momentum — Delta’s CEO has publicly committed to returning to all pre-COVID regional markets within two years. Here’s where things stand:
The aircraft piece: SkyWest is converting aging CRJ-700/900s into the new CRJ-550 — a dual-cabin 50-seat aircraft designed to meet Delta’s premium service model. As SkyWest’s CRJ-550 fleet grows, the opportunity to bring Delta service to Cody grows with it.
The money piece: Airlines require a Minimum Revenue Guarantee (MRG) before entering a new market — essentially, a community-funded promise that the airline will make a baseline amount of revenue. The Chicago flight carries a modest MRG (capped just under $200K for 18 flights worst-case). Daily Delta service would require something in the range of $700K–$1M per quarter. The airport itself cannot enter into these contracts due to FAA regulations, which is where CY Air comes in.
CY Air is a local nonprofit organization founded specifically to accept community donations and sign MRG contracts with airlines. In the past, a handful of major community donors (led by figures like Hank Coe) funded these agreements. Currently our community needs new, creative fundraising strategies to reach the $1M+ range needed for Delta. A future podcast episode focused on CY Air and their fundraising plans is in the works.

Other Airlines on the Radar

• Delta via Salt Lake City — Top community request; ~21% of travelers driving to Billings are doing so for SLC connections or destinations. Building the case with SkyWest is the current strategy.
• Alaska Airlines — Interested in Cody; Seattle is the #1 travel linkage from Cody (meaning more Cody travelers drive to Billings to reach Seattle than anywhere else). Alaska is capacity-constrained in Seattle right now but is growing Portland and Boise as alternatives to watch.
• Allegiant Air — The challenge: Allegiant typically launches service from large cities to leisure destinations, not the reverse. Cody needs to convince Allegiant that a national park gateway is worth adding to their portfolio despite the small local population base.
• Southwest Airlines — Better suited to high-volume vacation markets (think Las Vegas-scale hotel inventory). Conversations continue, but it’s a long shot in the near term.
• American Airlines — Erin’s personal wish (his parents live in Dallas). American is currently focused on growing Chicago. When they shift focus to DFW expansion, Cody plans to be in line for a SkyWest-operated American route.

From the Community

Three comments from Cody Journal readers summed up the airport’s strengths well:

“I’ve flown almost 60 flights in and out of Cody this year. I got stranded in Denver once or twice. United and SkyWest are doing a great job considering the challenges of a small airport near the mountains.”

“I have never missed a connection flying out of WIRI. I also never book flights with under an hour turnaround in Denver. WIRI is so much more stress-free.”

“Love the kind people. I’ve been to airports all over the world and there’s no better hospitality than Cody.”

Key Takeaways

• Early morning flights are back and getting even earlier this summer (5:15 a.m. starting late May)
• Denver delay issues have improved significantly thanks to United’s schedule changes
• New departure procedures are FAA-approved and should boost seat availability and reduce delays by summer
• Chicago direct service returns May 22nd — book those premium seats to help make the Delta case
• Delta’s return is a real possibility for 2027, but requires community-level fundraising through CY Air
• Free parking isn’t going anywhere before 2027 at the earliest

Resources & Links

• 📰 What Is an MRG? — Cody Journal explainer article about Minimum Revenue Guarantees
• 🌐 Yellowstone Regional Airport
• 💼 CYAIR – Cody Yellowstone Air Improvement Resources
• 💰 Omnivest Financial — Episode Sponsor

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