3/13/17, 4:26 PMCity guarantees $600,000 in revenue to United Airlines | Local | columbiamissourian.com

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City guarantees $600,000 in revenue to United AirlinesTOMÁS ORIHUELA Mar 3, 2017

Correction

*This story has been corrected to say that 100 percent of the money contributed to the American Airlines revenueguarantee fund was returned to investors, with interest.

COLUMBIA — A proposed agreement with United Airlines calls

for the city to provide a $600,000 one-year revenue guarantee

on !ights to and from Denver International Airport.

United Airlines on Monday announced new !ights to and from

Denver and Chicago starting Aug. 1. The revenue guarantee

would ensure that the airline makes at least $600,000 on its

!ights to and from Denver for the "rst year, according to a

memo to the Columbia City Council. A pool of money to cover

the guarantee will come from private donors and government

contributions.

The revenue guarantee is far less than the $3 million, two-year

guarantee the city initially made to American Airlines for !ights

to and from Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth in 2012.

The city in February 2015 returned to investors — including

Boone County, Cole County, Je#erson City and MU — 80

percent of the money they contributed to the American Airlines

guarantee fund, with interest. American required just one

payment of $22,562 in March 2013 to compensate for low

passenger numbers on two weeks of !ights.

The city retained the other 20 percent of the money in the fund

to continue a revenue guarantee on American's second daily

!ight to and from Chicago. That money, too, was returned with

interest to investors in 2016.*

Third Ward Councilman Karl Skala said most of the $600,000

for the United guarantee has already been raised.

"Public money is not at risk. MU and other private companies

have contributed with most of the money," Skala said, adding

that MU experienced a "big boom" of students coming from

MORE INFORMATION

Columbia Regional Airportadds new airline, destination

3/13/17, 4:26 PMCity guarantees $600,000 in revenue to United Airlines | Local | columbiamissourian.com

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Tomas OrihuelaSpring 2017 Public Life reporter. I'm an exchange junior studying photojournalism with an emphasis on print and socialmedia.

Chicago when !ights there began. He hopes the same will

happen with students from Denver.

The city's agreement with United also includes a waiver of

landing and rental fees at Columbia Regional Airport in the

amount of $125,000. The city also would provide $250,000

worth of marketing for United's Denver !ights.

It's unclear how the $250,000 for marketing will be spent.

"I guess that there will be more money spent on marketing in

Denver, since the idea is to put Columbia on the radar," Skala

said.

The United agreement will be introduced for "rst reading at the

city council's regular meeting Monday and is scheduled for a

"nal vote at the council's March 20 meeting.

Supervising editor is Scott Swa#ord.

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