Boutique Air, Inc. is a commuter airline based in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. The airline offers charter services as well as scheduled passenger services subsidized under the

Essential Air Service Essential Air Service (EAS) is a U.S. government program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States, which had been served by certificated airlines prior to deregulation in 1978, maintained commercial service. Its aim is t ...

(EAS) program. Boutique operates the second largest

PC-12 The Pilatus PC-12 is a pressurized, single-engined, turboprop aircraft, manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland, since 1991. It was designed as a high-performance utility aircraft that incorporates a large aft cargo door in ad ...

fleet in the United States with 26 aircraft. In 2019, Boutique transported over 180,000 passengers. The airline has faced rapid financial decline, and lost several EAS contracts between 2020-2022.

History

The company was founded in 2007 by Shawn Simpson, an early employee of

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

. It was originally an aviation technology company before it began acquiring a fleet of aircraft in 2012 through its holding company, Targaryen LLC. It operated on-demand charters, pilot training, and air patrol services for government sectors using

Cessna Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing c ...

aircraft before purchasing

Pilatus PC-12 The Pilatus PC-12 is a pressurized, single-engined, turboprop aircraft, manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland, since 1991. It was designed as a high-performance utility aircraft that incorporates a large aft cargo door in ad ...

aircraft to operate its passenger charter flights. In 2013, it received commuter air carrier authority from the United States Department of Transportation. Its first scheduled service was operated in 2013-2014 between Hawthorne Municipal Airport near

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

McCarran International Airport Harry Reid International Airport is an international airport in Paradise, Nevada, and is the main government airport for public use in the Las Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Nevada, about south of Downtown Las Vegas. ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. During that time, the company began submitting proposals to provide scheduled service to rural communities and regions under contract as part of the

program and began its first flights between

Clovis Municipal Airport Clovis Regional Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located six nautical miles (7 mi, 11 km) east of the central business district of Clovis, a city in Curry County, New Mexico, United States. The facility opened in Apr ...

in New Mexico and

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Air ...

in July 2014. The carrier has expanded further in New Mexico to include airports in Carlsbad, Los Alamos, Albuquerque, and Silver City.Onsurez, Jessica and Katie England
Airport: Carlsbad now connected to Dallas/Fort Worth
, ''Carlsbad Current-Argus'', April 28, 2015, Retrieved 2015-04-28 By the end of 2015, it flew 14 scheduled routes with an

airport destination. As of October 2022, Boutique has been removed from the Aviate program as it undergoes an investigation with the FAA. In November 2022, Boutique Air Pilots began the unionization process after negotiations with Shawn Simpson (CEO) fell through.

Corporate affairs

The headquarters are at Suite 925 of 5 3rd Street,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. The headquarters were previously at 340 Pine Street, and later in the

Flatiron Building The Flatiron Building, originally the Fuller Building, is a triangular 22-story, steel-framed landmarked building at 175 Fifth Avenue in the eponymous Flatiron District neighborhood of the Boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New ...

Destinations

Airline Agreements

United Airlines

Boutique Air announced a new

codeshare agreement A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

with

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

on May 23, 2018. Customers can book their entire itinerary under a single reservation for through ticketing and baggage transfer to their final destination.

MileagePlus MileagePlus is the loyalty program of United Airlines and Aeromar that offers rewards to passengers traveling on certain types of tickets. Following the 2011 merger agreement between United Airlines and Continental Airlines, United Mileage Plus w ...

members can earn miles on eligible Boutique Air flights. Since Boutique has a codeshare with United Airlines, passengers with

United Club United Club is the airport lounge associated with United Airlines and its regional affiliates. United operates fifty lounges at forty-five major airports in six countries, with the vast majority being in the United States. United Clubs feature ...

memberships can access the lounge even if they are not flying with United.

American Airlines

In December 2018, Boutique launched a new

interline agreement Interlining, also known as interline ticketing and interline booking, is a voluntary commercial agreement between individual airlines to handle passengers traveling on itineraries that require multiple flights on multiple airlines. Such agreement ...

with

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

. Similar to the codeshare with United, customers can book all flights under a single reservation for flow through ticketing and baggage transfers to their final destination.

United Aviate

In 2020,

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

launched a flow-through program called United Aviate. Boutique Air pilots can enter the Aviate Experience Build Entry Point. Pilots undergo an evaluation that includes employment history, panel interviews, technical skill inventory and a personality and cultural fit inventory. Once accepted into the program, pilots will have access to travel privileges, site tours, development events, coaching, United leadership interaction, and a direct path to United Airlines. When the applicant has earned their ATP certificate, they can transition to one of the United Express Aviate partners. The choices include

CommutAir CommuteAir, operating as United Express, is a U.S. regional airline founded in 1989. Today, CommuteAir operates more than 1600 weekly flights to over 75 U.S. destinations and 3 in Mexico, with Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft, from its bases at Denver, ...

and

Mesa Airlines Mesa Airlines, Inc., is an American regional airline based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is an FAA Part 121–certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number MASA036A issued on June 29, 1979. It is a subsidiary of Mesa Air Gr ...

. Once the minimum service requirements with

United Express United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which six individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights. On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged t ...

are met, the applicant will be eligible to transition to a First Officer position with United. As of October 2022, Boutique Air has been removed from the Aviate program.

Boutique Car

In 2017, Boutique started a new rental car service called 'Boutique Car'. This service provides ground transportation options for communities that have no other options and complements Boutique's EAS proposals. Two locations currently utilize this service: *

Carlsbad, New Mexico Carlsbad ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Eddy County, New Mexico, Eddy County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city population was 32,238. Carlsbad is centered at the intersection of U.S. R ...

Pendleton, Oregon Pendleton is a city and the county seat of Umatilla County, Oregon. The population was 17,107 at the time of the 2020 census, which includes approximately 1,600 people who are incarcerated at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution. Pendleton ...

Fleet

Boutique Air operates the following fleet:

Accidents and incidents

References

External links

* {{Airlines of the United States, state=collapsed Airlines based in California Airlines established in 2007 2007 establishments in California American companies established in 2007 Companies based in San Francisco Regional airlines of the United States