Ernest A. Love Field

Prescott Regional Airport, Ernest A. Love Field (IATA: PRC[2], ICAO: KPRC, FAA LID: PRC) is a public use airport 8 miles (7.0 nmi; 13 km) north of Prescott, in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States.[1] Love Field is used for general aviation and facilitates scheduled passenger airline service to Denver and Los Angeles.

For the airport in Dallas, see Dallas Love Field. For the neighborhood in Dallas, see Love Field, Dallas. For the 1992 movie, see Love Field (film).
Prescott Regional Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Prescott
ServesPrescott, Arizona
LocationPrescott, Arizona
Elevation AMSL5,045 ft / 1,538 m
Coordinates34°39′16″N 112°25′11″W
Websitewww.prcairport.com
Map
PRC is located in Arizona
PRC
PRC
PRC is located in the United States
PRC
PRC
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
3R/21L 7,619 2,322 Asphalt
3L/21R 4,846 1,477 Asphalt
12/30 4,408 1,344 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Aircraft operations (year ending 7/31/2022)310,870
Based aircraft263

Most traffic at PRC is training flights from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University but includes training flights from operations including Guidance Aviation and North-Aire.

Namesake

The airport is named for Ernest A. Love (1895–1918), First Lieutenant, United States Army Air Service. Love was born in New Mexico and raised in Prescott. He was a graduate of Prescott High School and studied mechanical engineering at Stanford. He served in World War I and was shot down near Verdun, France, on 16 September 1918, and he died of his wounds as a prisoner of war a few days later. Lieutenant Love is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[3] The hamlet of Love, Arizona, is also named for him.[4]

Facilities

Ernest A. Love Field covers 760 acres (310 ha) at an elevation of 5,045 ft (1,538 m). It has three asphalt runways:

  • 3R/21L measuring 7,619 ft × 150 ft (2,322 m × 46 m)
  • 3L/21R measuring 4,846 ft × 60 ft (1,477 m × 18 m)
  • 12/30 measuring 4,408 ft × 75 ft (1,344 m × 23 m)[1]

Plans to extend Runway 3R/21L and Runway 3L/21R were mentioned in the latest master plan update in 2009. The extension onto Runway 3R/21L would be more than 3,300 feet and the extension onto Runway 3L/21R would be more than 1,300 feet.

In the year ending July 31, 2022 the airport had 310,870 aircraft operations, average 851 per day: 83% general aviation, 17% air taxi, <1% military, and <1% airline. 263 aircraft were then based at this airport: 214 single-engine, 16 multi-engine, 29 helicopter, 3 jet, and 1 glider.[1]

Terminal

In 2019, the City of Prescott received a $10 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration for construction of a new terminal building. The building will also be funded with $1 million from the state of Arizona and $3.5 million of local funds. The new building will have more space for passengers, security, and airline operations. The existing building is considered "antiquated and undersized." The new passenger terminal opened to the public in March 2021.[5]

Airline and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinations
United Express Denver, Los Angeles

Statistics

Enplanement totals
Year Passengers Year Passengers
2000 6,337 2010 7,836
2001 3,980 2011 5,159
2002 4,861 2012 5,152
2003 4,786 2013 5,223
2004 7,014 2014 3,862
2005 5,020 2015 3,428
2006 3,780 2016 3,451
2007 4,165 2017 5,888
2008 5,816 2018 10,337
2009 11,668 2019 27,730

Carrier Shares
(July 2022 – June 2023)[6]
Carrier Passengers (arriving and departing)
United Express
50,790(100%)

Top Domestic Destinations
(July 2022 – June 2023)
Rank City Airport name & IATA code Passengers Carriers
1 Denver Denver International Airport (DEN) 14,000 United Express
2 Los Angeles Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) 11,000 United Express

Cargo
AirlinesDestinationsRefs
AmeriflightKingman, Phoenix-Sky Harbor[7]

Historical airline service

The first airline flights at Prescott were TWA DC-3s in late 1947.

2008–2018

Great Lakes Airlines served the airport since 2008, when Mesa Airlines terminated their agreement. Although Great Lakes over the last few years ran into staffing issues due to the nationwide pilot shortage, Prescott has always been one of their top destinations. In 2016, the company turned itself around and was able to pull out of its staffing problems by signing a contract with Frontier Airlines to employ their pilots after they have completed a required employment period with Great Lakes first. The company currently flies to Los Angeles and Phoenix; it cut back on the destinations it served so it could dramatically increase reliability and staffing abilities towards its profitable airports. Prescott in November received the first of several planned upgrades by the company.[8] Great Lakes increased its total round trip daily flights to/from Los Angeles from two flights a day to four. On December 17, 2016 part two of the upgrade plan took place, which included bringing in a larger aircraft, an Embraer EMB-120, which included 30 seats, restroom facilities and flight attendant service. The company has also leased a corporate maintenance hangar on the airfield and planned to employ a full-time aircraft mechanic to turn Prescott into a west coast maintenance hub. Finally, the airline resumed flying to Denver, CO twice per week with one stop in Farmington, New Mexico. In 2017, Great Lakes reverted to two flights per day to Los Angeles and two flights per week to Denver using Beech 1900D aircraft. On March 26, 2018, Great Lakes Airlines ceased operations, terminating all scheduled flights from Ernest A. Love Field.

2018–present

On July 17, 2018, United Airlines announced service from Ernest A. Love Field to Denver and Los Angeles with each running a daily flight, which began on August 29, 2018.[9] United Airlines service is operated by SkyWest Airlines dba United Express operating 50 seat Bombardier CRJ-200 jet aircraft.

Historical

The following is a list of all known air carriers that have served Prescott. Most of these airlines provided flights to Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Accidents
  • On February 28, 1959, a USAF Lockheed C-121 Super Constellation crashed 1.9 miles south of Prescott Airport after performing touch-and-gos. The aircraft crashed in rugged terrain alongside U.S. Highway 89. All 5 occupants were killed.[10]

See also

References
  1. FAA Airport Form 5010 for PRC PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective July 13, 2023.
  2. "IATA Airport Code Search (PRC: Prescott)". International Air Transport Association. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  3. Ernest A. Love, First Lieutenant, United States Army Air Service at Arlington National Cemetery
  4. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Love
  5. "Prescott's new airport terminal set to open Tuesday". dcourier.com. 2021-03-27. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  6. "Prescott, AZ: Ernest A. Love Field (PRC)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), U.S. Department of Transportation. December 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  7. "Ameriflight Routes". Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  8. Goodman, Tyler. "Prescott Municipal Airport: More Flights, More Destinations, Larger Aircraft". Prescott eNews. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
  9. "United Express set to begin flights from Prescott in late August | The Daily Courier | Prescott, AZ". Dcourier.com. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  10. Accident description for 54-4069 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on July 28, 2023.

Other sources
  • Essential Air Service documents (Docket DOT-OST-1996-1899) from the U.S. Department of Transportation:
    • Order 2005-3-16 (March 9, 2005): selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide essential air service at Kingman, Prescott, Page, and Show Low for a new two-year period, at a combined first-year subsidy of $3,840,959, and a combined second-year subsidy of $3,854,958.
    • Order 2007-6-10 (June 13, 2007): selecting Mesa Air Group, Inc. d/b/a Air Midwest to provide subsidized essential air service at Kingman and Prescott, Arizona, for two years, beginning when the carrier full service. Service will consist of three round trips a day (18 per week) with 19-seat Beech 1900D aircraft over a Kingman Prescott Phoenix or Prescott Kingman Las Vegas routing, at a total annual subsidy of $1,798,489 for both communities.
    • Order 2008-6-11 (June 10, 2008): selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide essential air service at Kingman and Prescott, Arizona, for a two-year period beginning when the carrier inaugurates full service at both communities at a combined annual subsidy of $2,898,490.
    • Order 2011-3-4 (March 1, 2011): re-selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide essential air service at Kingman, Page, Prescott, and Show Low, Arizona for the two-year period from May 1, 2011, to April 30, 2013, for a combined annual subsidy of $5,596,114.
    • Order 2013-6-1 (June 3, 2013): re-selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide Essential Air Service at Kingman, Page, Prescott, and Show Low, Arizona, for the two-year period from May 1, 2013, through April 30, 2015, for a combined annual subsidy of $7,873,533. Subsidy for Prescott: $2,094,235. Routing: PRC-LAX nonstop and/or DEN one-stop. Weekly Frequency: 18. Aircraft: Beechcraft 1900D. Seats: 19.


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