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In 2025, Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC) will reintroduce direct flights to Chicago for the first time in almost ten years. The new service on United Airlines is aimed at serving the growing base of Vail Resorts Epic Pass holders in the Chicago area.
According to the Gunnison Country Times, to support the route, the Rural Transportation Authority (RTA) is providing a minimum revenue guarantee (MRG) of $118,000, covering any revenue shortfall if seats don’t fill. The flights will begin on President’s Day weekend and run through March, spanning some of the busiest ski weeks at Crested Butte Mountain Resort. Scheduled for Saturdays and Sundays, the route will offer a total of seven roundtrips, which transportation officials believe is an optimal way to test demand.
This reintroduction marks the first Chicago route since GUC’s seasonal service to Chicago O’Hare from 2013 to 2017, a period when the RTA invested around $1 million in MRGs but ultimately suspended the route due to cost. The RTA views this as a viable market due to Crested Butte’s inclusion on the Epic Pass after Vail Resorts’ acquisition. The Epic Pass provides skiers unlimited access to various resorts, and an increasing number of pass holders from the Chicago and Milwaukee areas have visited the valley over the past five years, according to RTA flight consultant Bill Tomcich.
