The Eagle County Regional Airport will have a new carrier for the coming winter.

Alaska Airlines on Tuesday announced that from Dec. 20 through March 16 it will fly three times a week into Eagle County from San Diego and Seattle. The airline will use Embraer 175 aircraft for the flights. Those are 76-passenger “regional” jets.

Like many new routes, the Alaska Airlines flights required a “minimum revenue guarantee.” Those guarantees essentially backstop airlines against losses in case flights don’t have enough passengers to be profitable.

This guarantee is for three years, thanks to the half-cent transportation tax passed by voters in 2022. A portion of that revenue is dedicated to improving air service.

Peter Dann is the chairman of the EGE Air Alliance board. That group works to build service to the airport. Dann said the certainty provided by the transportation tax has allowed county officials and the alliance to pledge multi-year revenue guarantees.

That’s essential, he said, since any new route needs a minimum of three years to prove itself. Guarantees are also in place for this summer’s new flights from Houston and Chicago.

Dann said landing Alaska Airlines is a coup for local officials, who have long sought a low-cost carrier for the airport. He praised the entire county team, including Commissioner Kathy Chandler-Henry, County Manager Jeff Shroll and Aviation Director David Reid.

While the attraction to locals of a winter flight to San Diego is obvious, Dann noted that Seattle is Alaska Airlines hub, meaning that someone can catch a flight from that airport to virtually anywhere the airline flies, including Hawaii and Costa Rica.