Students at F&M now have a new long-haul travel option to campus with the launch of SkyWest flights from Lancaster Airport. After winning a contract from the federal government, SkyWest has begun operating flights this summer to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.
The route, funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Essential Air Service program, will provide 12 weekly flights between Lancaster and Chicago O’Hare. According to LancasterOnline, the federal government will provide $184 per passenger in federal subsidies. Ticket prices will begin at $291 for a roundtrip basic economy fare to Chicago, while a roundtrip standard economy fare will run passengers $331. Tickets are available on united.com.
Operator SkyWest is to operate the route using 50-seat CRJ200 aircraft under the United Express brand through a partnership with United Airlines. This partnership enables ticketing integration with connecting flights in Chicago on the United network, offering one-stop access from Lancaster to destinations across the U.S., Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Airport officials lauded what they saw as a new chapter for Lancaster’s accessibility. According to WGAL, Chair of the Lancaster Airport Authority Board of Directors Matt Brown described the service as “historic,” adding that “with the jet service to Chicago, we now have opened up really the entire globe to the Lancaster Airport, so this is a very exciting moment for us.”
SkyWest’s service replaces Southern Airways Express, which had operated smaller turboprop flights to Pittsburgh and Washington Dulles under a previous EAS contract. Four airlines bid for the Lancaster contract, including SkyWest, Southern Airways Express, Breeze (which proposed flights to Raleigh-Durham Airport), and Boutique Air (which proposed flights to Baltimore or Pittsburgh).
For students seeking other options to get to campus, Lancaster Airport is also served by twice-weekly flights by Breeze Airways to Orlando. Beyond air service, Amtrak offers multiple trains daily from Lancaster’s train station eastward to New York City via Philadelphia, service westward to Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, and connections across the East Coast.
Sophomore Milind Gavankar is the News Editor. Their email is mgavanka@fandm.edu.