If you are flying here, you'll be at the destination by the time you get through security at DIA.”

Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport Director Paul Anslow on Air Carrier JSX new service to Dallas and Burbank.

Passengers across the Front Range have another option when it comes to flying from Colorado to California or Texas at  Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield.

Air Carrier JSX came to RMMA on Aug. 4, offering public air charter daily direct flights to and from Dallas and Burbank twice a day, Sunday through Friday.

Two flights will be inbound from Burbank and two from Dallas. Then, two will be outbound to Burbank and two will be outbound to Dallas. 

The company describes itself as a “hop-on jet service.” According to Airport Director Paul Anslow, they are not 14 CFR PART 139 certified, meaning while passengers still have to go through security, they don’t have to go through standard TSA. 

“You can show up at the airport 20 minutes before your flight, get through the security check-in and be on your flight,” Anslow said. “(That) is a whole heck of a lot different than when you think about going down to Denver.”

Flight times are about 2 hours, according to Alex Wilcox, CEO of JSX.  Ticket prices for August on the company's website, www.jsx.com/, offer one-way flights to Dallas or Burbank for less than $300 and round-trip flights for about $500.

"If you are flying here, you'll be at the destination by the time you get through security at DIA," he said. 

That perk also comes from the fact that the planes only have 30 seats. JSX remodeled planes that usually fit 50 seats down to 30. 

“They're all kind of like VIP first-class-style seats,” Anslow said. 

Wilcox said the airplanes are 20 years old and completely remodeled with a new interior. 

Talks with JSX took about two years prior to the opening date, with most of the delay due to Covid. Actual negotiations occurred in the last 90-120 days. 

Anslow estimates JSX will bring about half a million to three million dollars to the region while they just start out. That number will grow with increased passenger demand.

He also commented on the airline's reasonable prices, which are much lower than he expected. 

Wilcox said the company is able to do that by pricing to the market and what it actually costs to fly.

"We are just trying to make a margin," he said. 

JSX will add more frequent flights depending on how successful the beginning is, and Wilcox said he's looking to expand into more markets.

Noise?

The move comes after airport operations increased 69% since 2011. According to Jefferson County Spokesperson Julie Story and Anslow, there were 119,353 operations in 2011 and 201,426 in 2021. 

Anslow said he notified the Community Noise Roundtable group in June, which is normal as he would not brief the group until a certain level of certainty is reached.   Though, the new service will only increase operations by eight for an entire week. 

At the same time, the surrounding communities — Arvada, Broomfield, Louisville, Superior and Westminster — have increased their populations by about 13%. The total number of residents of all communities increased from 299,295 in 2010 to 338,806 in 2019. From 1990 to 2019, there has been an overall 68% increase in population, according to Story.

Both increases may have resulted in noise complaints, which have risen by almost 492% in the past 10 years. According to Anslow, noise complaints in 2011 were 481 and had grown to 2,845 in 2021. 

In 2011, the number of distinct households complaining was 84, making the average complaint per household 5.7. By 2021, the number of distinct households was 402, averaging 7.1 complaints per household.

"This is a great partnership between our airport and JSX," Jefferson County Commissioner Tracy Kraft-Tharp said. "We're excited to open these opportunities to our community."