I am constantly looking for new (to me) products to review for the blog. To that point, I spend approximately 30 minutes per day searching different city pairs for unique flights. Today, while searching flights, I came across a flight from Dallas – Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Clovis Municipal Airport (CVN). The flight was operated by Boutique Air, an airline that I have wanted to fly for quite some time now. Boutique Air operates a fleet of 32 PC-12 and Beechcraft King Air 300 turboprop aircraft between 35 cities in the continental United States. The airline serves the smaller, business airports.
Boutique Air does not have lounges, security, inflight entertainment, or inflight service. The airline shuttles passengers between cities without the promise of anything more. As I searched flights I came across a $178 USD roundtrip from DFW to CVN.
I immediately tried to book the flight because it seemed like a fair price (fare…fair fare???) between the two cities, without or without any amenities. The excitement for the potential flight quickly dissipated when I made it to the checkout page. The flight was now showing as $328 USD, a $150 USD increase. HOW???
As quick as the thought of reviewing Boutique Air entered my mind, it was fading away quickly. I decided to make one last ditch effort by calling Boutique Air’s Customer Service line to ask about my options. The phone call started with a recording stating that I was #2 in the queue. I moved to #1 after just a couple of minutes. The very next announcement stated I was back to #2 in line. Um ok…
I waited another minute and moved back to #1 in the queue. The next announcement was different than the others as a recording stated the following, “All of our agents are busy, please leave a message after the tone and we will return your call as soon as possible”. Wait, what? I have NEVER had to leave an airline a message with the hopes they would return my call.
Final Word
It was frustrating that the price on Expedia was incorrect, but I do not usually have a good experience with the website. I am not counting on Boutique Air to return my phone call so I will look for a date in the near future to complete the review. The lack of amenities does not bother me, especially on a 90 minute flight. I think it will be awesome to fly into an airport that is primarily served by private airplanes. Keep checking back for the review of this unique airline.
Have you ever flown on Boutique Air?
Wow look at those little planes. Rough experience; if I did fly ’em, it better be a turbulence-free day LOL…those little suckers will bounce around.
That is the truth, LOL. I will still give it a go.