WHY?

Why can't we do something in Billings to attract more airline flights with popular destinations and cheaper airfares?

This is mind-boggling when you think about the area we draw from.

Billings airport officials announced that Billings will be seeing a reduction in seats available this summer, and I mean a lot of seats -- 15,000 to 16,000 seats per month. And even more limited service from Billings to places like Denver and Minneapolis.

Photo: Johnny Vincent
Photo: Johnny Vincent
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In the direct opposite direction, you have Bozeman. They are the busiest airport in the state even though they aren't even in the top 300 cities population-wise in the U.S.

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I get it, Bozeman is closer to Yellowstone Park and Big Sky, but we have many reasons to fly here as well including the base for business and our population wanting to travel -- the largest population in Montana, by the way.

3 Ways Your Website Can Get More Leads for Your Business in Billings, MT
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We sold out our Flakes trip in 45 minutes with 140 people going. We had to spread the flights over two days. We could have sold 200 but we can't get the seats on airplanes.

So why has the city failed to aggressively tackle this problem of lack of flights in Billings?

Now we're working on a huge new recreational center with pools for more swimming, addressing the shortage of pools; but not addressing the limited space for air travel?

Swimming pool
Credit: boggy22, Getty Stock/ThinkStock
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These kinds of things drive me nuts. We are in the process of completing a major airport expansion with new restaurants and bathrooms, but with fewer flights and passengers.

Maybe we should put a pool in that new concourse and kill two birds with one stone.

See ya tomorrow at 5 a.m.

LOOK: 14 Places to Visit With Direct Flights From Billings

While people in Montana may find it hard to travel anywhere from Billings because it usually requires flights with multiples stops, we found great opportunities just in the cities where Billings flies direct.

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