With a little help from my friends

I appreciated the story in last night's Gazette about Boutique Air's passenger counts climbing

but I think prospective passengers need a lot more information than that in order to make an informed decision on whether to fly with them or not so I had decided to write this column several days ago. I would like to do a full column next week on the pros and cons of flying out of and into McCook and that can only be done with help from the readers of this column.

So the assignment is simple. If you've flown Boutique Airlines since it started its service in McCook on June 1st, I would like to hear from you with as much information as you care to provide. I will compile your information with the information from others, plus a personal visit with the airport manager and present a full report in this column next week.

Air service to and from McCook is absolutely critical as all of us are aware if we are to stay a vibrant community. I was appointed to a task force by Gene Morris along with several other community leaders to come up with a plan that puts McCook's best foot forward when we're trying to impress businesses that might want to relocate here or simply people with an interest in moving here. I think regular, dependable air service is an integral part of courting both people and businesses in a positive way.

But I can't put together a very comprehensive report without your participation so here's what I ask you to do. Send me an email with both your general and specific impressions of Boutique Air after flying with them. How many times have you flown with them? Were the flights always on time, usually on time, rarely on time or never on time? Were any of your flights cancelled, either departing from McCook to Denver or Denver to McCook? How was the overall comfort of the flight, including seat construction, placement, leg room and noise in the cabin from the engines? Did you have to go through security again in Denver before you made your connections? How fast and friendly was the security process here? What were the attitudes and personalities of the people you dealt with at our airport? What was the flight time there and back? And finally and most importantly, would you fly Boutique Airlines again?

A company is only as good as the word-of-mouth about the company circulates around the community so I need as many replies as possible in order to paint a realistic picture of flying into and out of McCook!

Along with the things I've mentioned, you can add anything else you choose to help give your neighbors and friends an accurate explanation of your flying experience with the airline and our airport. If you don't want your name used in the subsequent column I write about your experiences, it won't be because it's what you encountered or didn't encounter that's important, not who you are.

We all know what a disappointment Great Lakes Airlines turned out to be, regardless of whose fault it was, but if you couldn't count on them arriving on time or, in many cases, arriving at all, then you couldn't make plans to fly anywhere out of McCook because you weren't sure you were going to get to the connecting airport in Denver or just as bad, on your return trip you weren't going to get home because the flight to McCook had been cancelled. We are dependent on safe and reliable air travel and the public deserves to know what they can expect from the airline on a daily basis.

So please, for your friends, family, neighbors and fellow travelers, take a few minutes out of your busy day to send me an email at mikeatnight1009@gmail.com detailing your most recent flying experiences with Boutique.

We will all appreciate it and profit from it!