By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

In almost its first full month of service at Hays Regional Airport, SkyWest Airlines has had a solid start, but acting Airport Manager I.D. Creech said they still have a ways to go.

An early in-house report submitted to the Hays City Commission this week shows 90-percent of the flights were on time.

According to the report, just three flights were 15 to 44 minutes late and one was 45 to 74 minutes late.

Creech said the 10-percent of flights that were delayed is much better than the reported 60-percent of the previous commercial air provider Great Lakes.

He even said there are times the flights are arriving in Hays early.

Creech also confirmed the two cancellations this month were for mechanical problems, and he said SkyWest made accommodations as soon as they knew the flight would be canceled.

Overall, Creech said so far the city is pleased with the job SkyWest and United Airlines have done.

“We’re hopeful that we can build this now that we have had about a month of service that has been good,” Creech said. “We can show that it’s going to be effective.”

The airline will provide their own numbers, including the number of passengers that have used the airlines.

Creech said, as of Aug. 20, an estimated 550 people have used the air service out of Hays.