Boutique Air, Inc. is a commuter airline based in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. The airline offers charter services as well as scheduled passenger services subsidized under the Essential Air Service (EAS) program. Boutique operates the second largest

PC-12 The Pilatus PC-12 is a pressurized, single-engined, turboprop aircraft, manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland, since 1991. It was designed as a high-performance utility aircraft that incorporates a large aft cargo door in ad ...

fleet in the United States with 26 aircraft. In 2019, Boutique transported over 180,000 passengers. The airline has faced rapid financial decline, and lost several EAS contracts between 2020-2022.

History

The company was founded in 2007 by Shawn Simpson, an early employee of

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

. It was originally an aviation technology company before it began acquiring a fleet of aircraft in 2012 through its holding company, Targaryen LLC. It operated on-demand charters, pilot training, and air patrol services for government sectors using Cessna aircraft before purchasing Pilatus PC-12 aircraft to operate its passenger charter flights. In 2013, it received commuter air carrier authority from the United States Department of Transportation. Its first scheduled service was operated in 2013-2014 between Hawthorne Municipal Airport near

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and McCarran International Airport in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

. During that time, the company began submitting proposals to provide scheduled service to rural communities and regions under contract as part of the Essential Air Service program and began its first flights between Clovis Municipal Airport in New Mexico and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in July 2014. The carrier has expanded further in New Mexico to include airports in Carlsbad, Los Alamos, Albuquerque, and Silver City.Onsurez, Jessica and Katie England
Airport: Carlsbad now connected to Dallas/Fort Worth
, ''Carlsbad Current-Argus'', April 28, 2015, Retrieved 2015-04-28 By the end of 2015, it flew 14 scheduled routes with an Essential Air Service airport destination. As of October 2022, Boutique has been removed from the Aviate program as it undergoes an investigation with the FAA. In November 2022, Boutique Air Pilots began the unionization process after negotiations with Shawn Simpson (CEO) fell through.

Corporate affairs

The headquarters are at Suite 925 of 5 3rd Street,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. The headquarters were previously at 340 Pine Street, and later in the Flatiron Building.

Destinations

Airline Agreements

United Airlines

Boutique Air announced a new codeshare agreement with

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

on May 23, 2018. Customers can book their entire itinerary under a single reservation for through ticketing and baggage transfer to their final destination. MileagePlus members can earn miles on eligible Boutique Air flights. Since Boutique has a codeshare with United Airlines, passengers with United Club memberships can access the lounge even if they are not flying with United.

American Airlines

In December 2018, Boutique launched a new

interline agreement Interlining, also known as interline ticketing and interline booking, is a voluntary commercial agreement between individual airlines to handle passengers traveling on itineraries that require multiple flights on multiple airlines. Such agreement ...

with

American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passeng ...

. Similar to the codeshare with United, customers can book all flights under a single reservation for flow through ticketing and baggage transfers to their final destination.

United Aviate

In 2020,

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

launched a flow-through program called United Aviate. Boutique Air pilots can enter the Aviate Experience Build Entry Point. Pilots undergo an evaluation that includes employment history, panel interviews, technical skill inventory and a personality and cultural fit inventory. Once accepted into the program, pilots will have access to travel privileges, site tours, development events, coaching, United leadership interaction, and a direct path to United Airlines. When the applicant has earned their ATP certificate, they can transition to one of the United Express Aviate partners. The choices include CommutAir and

Mesa Airlines Mesa Airlines, Inc., is an American regional airline based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is an FAA Part 121–certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number MASA036A issued on June 29, 1979. It is a subsidiary of Mesa Air ...

. Once the minimum service requirements with United Express are met, the applicant will be eligible to transition to a First Officer position with United. As of October 2022, Boutique Air has been removed from the Aviate program.

Boutique Car

In 2017, Boutique started a new rental car service called 'Boutique Car'. This service provides ground transportation options for communities that have no other options and complements Boutique's EAS proposals. Two locations currently utilize this service: *

Carlsbad, New Mexico Carlsbad ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Eddy County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 32,238. Carlsbad is centered at the intersection of U.S. Routes 62/180 and 285, and is the principal city ...

* Pendleton, Oregon

Fleet

Boutique Air operates the following fleet:

Accidents and incidents

References

External links

* {{Airlines of the United States, state=collapsed Airlines based in California Airlines established in 2007 2007 establishments in California American companies established in 2007 Companies based in San Francisco Regional airlines of the United States