The Gillette-Campbell County (GCC) Airport ranked high in convenience according to a recent survey, although travelers also said they wanted lower fares and the ability to fly to more nonstop destinations from Gillette.

The survey, which was available online for about one month until the middle of last December, was aimed at getting to know customers and their needs, particularly why and how often travelers opt for airports other than Gillette.

“One of our survey goals was to learn why Gillette residents sometimes choose alternate airports for their air travel,” said Airport Director Jay Lundell.  “As we suspected, travelers do so based on a perceived cost savings. But, unlike some competing regional airports, Gillette is seeing lower fares versus last year, by an average of 20 percent.”

Nearly 600 travelers, mostly Gillette residents, completed the brief survey by answering questions about their travel frequency, destinations, likes and dislikes of traveling to and from GCC.

Some of the highlights from the survey include:

• 74 percent of respondents listed convenience as their reason for flying from Gillette
• More than two-thirds of respondents were traveling for pleasure
• 44 percent of respondents said lower fares would encourage them to travel from Gillette more often. 19 percent said a new destination would likely get them on a plane out of Gillette.
• Of respondents who travel to alternative airports, 67 percent said they do so based on price.  Of those, the majority (48 percent) fly out of the Rapid City airport.
• Las Vegas topped the list of preferred new destinations out of Gillette, followed by Minneapolis, Phoenix, Billings, and Chicago.

The Gillette-Campbell County Airport sees approximately 56,000 passengers each year, and it is currently served by Delta Airlines, United Airlines, and Great Lakes Aviation to Denver, Salt Lake City, Rock Springs, Miles City, and Williston.  The airport and tenants currently employ roughly 260 people in the surrounding area.

Last year, the airport set an all-time high for the second straight year, serving 61,998 passengers in 2011.  This represents an increase of 10 percent from the previous year.

To view the complete results from the survey, click here.