Cheyenne Regional Airport

thumb|Air traffic control tower at Cheyenne Regional Airport

Cheyenne Regional Airport – also known as Jerry Olson Field – is a civil-military airport a mile north of downtown Cheyenne, in Laramie County, Wyoming. It is owned by the Cheyenne Regional Airport Board. Until 1961 the airport was the training center for United Airlines stewardesses from across the country.

The airport was visited by Charles Lindbergh, aboard the Spirit of St. Louis, and Amelia Earhart. Many historic events are chronicled on the walls of the airport restaurant. One of the airport's celebrated visitors in recent times was child aviator Jessica Dubroff, who lost her life when her small plane crashed after takeoff in terrible weather in April, 1996.

Because of its high altitude, aircraft manufacturers test their new jetliners at Cheyenne. Recent tests have involved Embraer of Brazil's E-170 and E-190 aircraft as well as Boeing's 737-900 and 787 Dreamliner jets and most recently, the Boeing 737 MAX.

The airport terminal contains plaques of the inductees into the Wyoming Aviation Hall of Fame. The 2013 inductee, Raymond A. Johnson, lived primarily in Cheyenne after 1960.

In November 2018, Cheyenne Regional Airport's current passenger terminal opened. The former terminal has since been proposed to be repurposed as an aviation museum. By 1959 United had one roundtrip Convair 340 flight a day between Cheyenne and Denver. All United service to Cheyenne ended in 1960.

In 1926, The Colorado Airlines began a southward route from Cheyenne to Denver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo. Western Air Express acquired the airline in 1927 and later become Western Airlines. The service lasted into 1934. Another carrier, Wyoming Air Service, began a northbound route from Cheyenne to Casper, Sheridan, and Billings in 1931. This route was extended southward from Cheyenne to Denver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo from 1934 through 1937. Western Airlines would later acquire Wyoming Air Service and operate a Denver-Cheyenne-Casper-Sheridan-Billings route which lasted until 1979. Various aircraft were used including the Boeing 247, Douglas DC-3, Douglas DC-6B, Lockheed L-188 Electra, and finally upgrading to jets with the Boeing 737-200 by 1969. One 737 jet was operated in each direction every day and continued through the entire decade of the 1970s, making the "milk run" from Denver to Billings with three stops in Wyoming. During the 1960s Western modified the route to operate Los Angeles - San Diego - Phoenix - Denver - Cheyenne as well as extending the northward route from Billings onto Great Falls and Calgary.

In 1947, Challenger Airlines began service with Douglas DC-3s, operating routes from Denver to Billings and Denver to Salt Lake City, making many stops, including Cheyenne. In 1950 Challenger was merged into the original Frontier Airlines (1950-1986). Frontier continued to serve Cheyenne with direct flights to Denver, Billings, and Salt Lake City using DC-3s which were later upgraded to Convair 340s, Convair 580s, and de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters. By 1967 Frontier Convair 580s flew nonstop to Denver and direct to Dallas, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Little Rock, Salt Lake City, and Colorado Springs. By 1977 Frontier began flying Boeing 737-200 jets to Cheyenne, and by 1982 all Cheyenne flights were operating only to Denver or Laramie using 737s. As Frontier began enduring a hard financial burden, the jets were soon discontinued and the carrier reverted to using the Convair 580s under a new designation as Frontier Commuter. All service to Cheyenne was discontinued in January 1985.

After airline deregulation in 1978, smaller regional and commuter airlines began serving Cheyenne with service primarily to Denver. Rocky Mountain Airways began service in early 1979 flying de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters and DHC-7 Dash 7s. After the collapse of Frontier in early 1985, Rocky Mountain Airways was the only airline flying Cheyenne to Denver with up to nine round trips daily using Twin Otters. Other carriers include Centennial Airlines operating flights to Denver, Billings, and Salt Lake City with Beechcraft 99 aircraft in 1982; and Air Resorts, which briefly operated to Denver in 1985 using Convair 440 piston aircraft.

In 1986, Aspen Airways began service to Denver using Convair 580s and began an affiliation with United Airlines by September of that year operating as United Express. In 1987 Rocky Mountain became affiliated with Continental Airlines and began operating as Continental Express with up to eight daily round trips to Denver using Beechcraft 1900Cs and ATR 42 aircraft. The United Express service by Aspen ended in 1989 but was reinstated by Mesa Airlines in 1990. In the early 1990s United Express and Continental Express operated a combined total of up to thirteen departures a day to Denver with both airlines flying Beechcraft 1900Cs. Continental Express ended their service in 1995 after Continental Airlines discontinued their hub operation at Denver. Mesa Airlines lost its designation as United Express in 1998 at which time Air Wisconsin began United Express service between Cheyenne and Denver using Dornier 328 aircraft. Air Wisconsin was quickly replaced by Great Lakes Airlines in late 1998 as the United Express airline at Cheyenne using Beech 1900D aircraft. Great Lakes then lost its designation as United Express in 2002 but continued serving Cheyenne under its own branding and a code-share with United. Great Lakes, the only carrier serving Cheyenne, moved its headquarters to the airport and also established an aircraft maintenance base on the field. Some flights to Denver operated with a larger Embraer 120 Brasilia aircraft; however, the company shut down on March 26, 2018, which left Cheyenne with no air service.

In 1996, upstart carrier Western Pacific Airlines began serving Cheyenne by way of their feeder carrier Mountain Air Express using Dornier 328 prop aircraft. Initially flights went to Colorado Springs but were changed to Denver in 1997. The carrier ended service later in 1997 and Western Pacific went out of business in early 1998.

American Airlines established nonstop flights to Dallas/Fort Worth on July 15, 2010, operated by American Eagle using Embraer 145 regional jets. The service however did not become profitable and ended on April 3, 2012. After the collapse of Great Lakes Airlines in 2018, the city of Cheyenne revisited with American and reinstated American Eagle service to Dallas/Fort Worth beginning on November 4, 2018, this time operated by SkyWest Airlines using Bombardier CRJ100/200 regional jets. Service began with one daily flight but was expanded with a second flight during the summer of 2019. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in early 2020 and the associated drop in air travel, all American Eagle service was discontinued.

The city of Cheyenne continued to work with SkyWest Airlines and reinstated service to Denver as United Express using CRJ-200s beginning on November 12, 2020 (SkyWest operates for both American Eagle and United Express). Service was suspended on April 16, 2021, for runway upgrades and returned on November 1, 2021, with two daily flights to Denver. Service was suspended again from April 4, 2023, through August 31, 2023.

There was a significant drop in air travel and air service beginning in the late 1990s. This is believed to have been caused by a trend in the general public preferring to first drive to a larger airport, such as Denver, rather than fly from a smaller hometown facility. This has been the case at most smaller cities around the United States, many of which have lost all air service.

Airline and destination

{| class="collapsible collapsed" style="border:1px #aaa solid; width:25em; margin:0.2em auto"

! Destination map