La Crosse airport wish list includes Dallas, Vegas and Orlando, as Detroit flights could come within year

Nonstop flights between La Crosse and Detroit may become a reality again.

That service on Delta Air Lines went away a few years ago, but the La Crosse Regional Airport just got a $750,000 grant to resume flights to that market.

Airport director Clint Torp said Detroit is high on the list.

“The further away you get from your current airport, the more expensive it is for an airline to fly that flight so, it’s definitely a low-hanging fruit that we’re interested in getting back to La Crosse,” Torp.

Other cities on Torp’s wish list are Dallas, Las Vegas and Orlando. Dallas, however, has a pilot shortage that would make connections unlikely right now.

When that grant was announced, New York City was also mentioned as another possible destination from La Crosse but Torp says that service would be harder to arrange.

“Because of the capacity restrictions that are in place at some of the New York airports, obtaining service there can be quite challenging,” Torp said. “It’s not to say that it can’t be done, but definitely much more challenging than a Detroit.”

Torp said Detroit flights could resume in as little as four months but might realistically take a year.

“We have up to three years to use the grant,” Torp said. “Realistically, if we’re able to convince the necessary airline that the service would be profitable for them, then I would hope potentially within a year would be a good target.”

Torp said Delta discontinued the La Crosse-Detroit service about five years ago.