Austin Airport Carrier Launching Service To Steamboat Springs

AUSTIN, TX — Austin airport officials are bringing out a heavy hitter to help promote a carrier's new service to Steamboat Springs in Colorado.

Legendary Olympian William Winston "Billy" Kidd, the first U.S. men's slalom silver medal, is scheduled to be the featured speaker at ViaAir's launch of a new winter seasonal service between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Steamboat Springs. His remarks are scheduled Wednesday, Dec. 13, at 10:15 a.m. in the airport's South Terminal.

The inaugural flight ceremony also will include ViaAir and Steamboat Springs Resort representatives, live performance by Raina Rosa, cake and refreshments and, naturally, a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The ViaAir nonstop service between Austin and Steamboat Springs will operate three days per week, on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. To book a trip, visit www.flyviaair.com.

Kidd is a former World Cup alpine ski racer who was a member of the U.S. ski team from 1962-70. At the 1970 World Championships in Val Gardena, Italy, Kidd won the gold medal in the combined and the bronze in the slalom. He was the silver medalist in the slalom at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck — becoming the first American man (along with teammate Jimmie Heuga) to earn in Olympic medal in alpine skiing.

Kidd moved to Steamboat Springs in 1970, where he serves as the director of skiing at the Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp.

For ViaAir, the new service to Steamboat Springs is the latest bolstering of its operations in Austin. In November, the carrier announced two new destinations from Austin to Oklahoma City, Okla., and Tucson, Ariz., bringing their total destinations to five. Airline officials said at the time: "ViaAir plans to base crews and maintenance at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, positioning its Austin-based operations to expand. We will roll out additional cities throughout next year as we hope to be known as Austin's hometown airline."

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