Bigger skies in store for Bozeman-Yellowstone Intl. Airport

Ranked the fastest-growing city of its size by the U.S. Census Bureau, Bozeman, dubbed “Boze-Angeles” by native-Montanans, has become the tech and trend-setting epicenter of the Treasure State. Nestled in the beautiful Rocky Mountains, just under an hour from the nation’s largest ski resort and just over an hour away from the nation’s first National Park, the city has faced unprecedented change and growth in recent years. As more people move here to escape the hustle and bustle of metropolitan life and others come as tourists to experience the majesty of the state, Bozeman-Yellowstone International Airport has also had to adapt to the high-volume of incoming travelers.

Over the last few weeks, Bozeman-Yellowstone Intl. has added numerous new flight-routes, airlines and businesses to its newly-expanded terminal. The 75,000-square-foot concourse expansion was unveiled in November of 2020. Along with it came new restaurants, retail fronts and four new gates to aid in the flow of air travelers. The airport’s building expansion came amid extremely high rates of growth. “As interest in Big Sky picked up, and we saw a lot of activity in the community… we were in double digit growth mode, 10% annually, sometimes up to 18% annually, when nationally, you know, three to three-and-a-half percent was about the norm,” said Deputy Airport Director, Scott Humphrey.

Featured additions in the new build are the Ross Peak restaurant, which features floor to vaulted-ceiling windows (that dim depending on the intensity of UV-rays) looking out toward stunning views of the Bridger Mountain Range on both sides of the terminal, a dog-friendly room for service dogs and services specifically for mothers traveling with infants. Travelers can rest-assured that their experience in the airport will still feel like entering a ski-lodge atop a mountain peak, because the airport’s signature lodge-style feel has also been enhanced, with a stunning central fireplace in the middle of the terminal and giant wood beams along the A-frame building addition. On the more technical side of things, the addition will also house a new baggage system on the ground floor to handle the increased loads from more flights and airlines.

At the forefront of service expansion is Southwest Airlines, one of the nation’s most competitively-priced airlines. Beginning Thursday, May 27, Southwest will connect customers with low-priced flights from Bozeman to cities across the nation, including non-stop flights to Denver and Las Vegas. According to Humphrey, talks about Southwest entering the Bozeman market have been going on for the last decade. “It’s just been a 10 year process of educating Southwest about the Bozeman area...and just waiting for, basically, our city to reach a size that made sense for Southwest,” Humphrey said. “It just so happened that 2020 [was] the year that the moon and stars aligned and the strategy fit the city.”

Along with Southwest, Allegiant Airlines recently announced new flights to San Diego, Oakland and Austin —this comes after the airline’s popular route to Nashville began about a year and a half ago. Alaska Airlines will also be joining expansion efforts as it begins to offer mainline service to San Diego and Seattle-Tacoma. Coming this summer there will be nonstop American Airlines flights to Phoenix and Jetblue flights to Fort Lauderdale. In two weeks, Bozeman-Yellowstone will also announce another new startup-airline that will be joining the airport, according to Humphrey. The new service routes and airlines sum up to about a 50% increase in seats flying in and out of the airport, compared to previous summers.

The airport’s expansions will undoubtedly have impacts on travel to and from the region. “I think ease of access in and out is always a benefit, especially direct flights —people would rather fly direct than connect,” Humphrey said. “I think, overall, it’s going to lift the whole area in terms of tourist and leisure spending.”

With the increased interest in the Bozeman-Yellowstone region, the airport’s expansive efforts come at an unprecedented time in travel. While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to halt international travel, American tourists are increasingly flocking to the nation’s up-and-coming areas to spend their money and time. If you decide to spend your summer in Bozeman this year, expect to see many more planes in the sky and many more tourists shopping on Main Street.