The Santa Maria Valley will soon become more connected, both domestically and internationally.
The Santa Maria Public Airport announced Friday that United Airlines will offer daily, non-stop flights to Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco starting June 4.
"I think a lot of the people that live here are really going to enjoy that we have an airport that we can fly out of that is competitive with the other two," said Donna Ornelas, Santa Maria resident.
Currently, the Santa Maria Public Airport only offers a flight to Las Vegas through Allegiant Air.
United Airlines did serve Santa Maria a few years ago, but multiple factors prompted them to leave.
"We didn't have GSA fares filed for the military so the military was not able to actively use it and we had some pricing issues going on locally," said Chris Hastert, Santa Maria Public Airport General Manager.
After a collective effort between various agencies, these services will soon become available.
United Airlines said they want to increase their California presence as part of their gross domestic plan.
Santa Maria Mayor Alice Patino is among those excited about the new flights.
"With Vandenberg being such an important part of the Space Command that is going to be coming, it is all coming together. Santa Maria is one of the happening cities here in California," she said.
United Airlines customers will be able to purchase tickets to these three destinations starting Saturday, January 11, 2020. Flights will not begin operating until June 4, 2020.
