Star-Tribune staff

St. George, Utah-based SkyWest Airlines, which carries passengers out Casper on 10 different flights to both Denver and Salt Lake City, is in the midst of a route expansion and recruitment drive that could result in additional flights or personnel to Natrona County International Airport and the carrier's bases in Jackson, Cody and West Yellowstone, company spokeswomen said Thursday.

The carrier employs 24 at Natrona County International, though it's too early to tell when or if new employees would be hired at the airport, spokeswoman Marisa Snow said. "I don't know what we have planned for Casper, but we're always recruiting," she said.

Since those who work at the airport work for the airlines, Natrona County Airport Manager Glenn Januska said he didn't know if more employees would be coming to work in Casper.

Januska said Natrona County International handled 80,000 passengers last year.

The expansion comes as the airline has signed a Midwest partnership to serve airports in Milwaukee and Kansas City, Mo., though Snow said additional flights to ski areas could be in the mix. A release from the company said additional personnel would be hired in Aspen, Denver and Salt Lake City initially.

The airline is planning to host coast-to-coast recruiting sessions in 2007, which is SkyWest's 35th anniversary. The company has also announced a contract relationship with Milwaukee-based Midwest Airlines to begin service in April.

SkyWest is the nation's largest independently-owned regional carrier.

Frontier expresses interest in Casper

Casper's Natrona County International is one of 50 airports expressing interest in adding Denver-based Frontier Airlines to its roster of flights, Airport Manager Glenn Januska said Thursday. Januska said the company is looking into the possibility of adding service between the city and Denver. The process includes examining incentives that might be given the carrier by the airport, including abatement of fees or "revenue guarantees" that make flying out of Casper economically feasible for the company. Frontier sent the proposal to Casper earlier this year.

Since the airport also handles traffic from United into Denver, Januska said Frontier must decide if it's economically worthwhile to split the revenues between United and Frontier, should it choose to move into the Casper market.

"We're ready for them to sit down and talk with us," Januska said.

Frontier representatives announced plans earlier this fall to expand to as many as 50 hubs within a 1,000-mile radius of its Denver base.