Fly to Stowe from New York in 1 hour, 15

With a revamped airport and regular weekend flights, you can now fly to Stowe from White Plains, N.Y., thanks to Russell Barr.

Thanks to one local family, grand plans for Stowe’s airport are coming to life with direct flights and expanded services. “Here’s where the café will go, and the flight school is over there,” says Russell Barr, as he pored over drawings of his dream project last spring. Ever since Barr’s son Harrison announced at age 14 that he wanted to learn to fly, the idea of an expanded airport has been buzzing in the Stowe attorney’s head.

“Airports are huge for economic development,” Barr says. “Just look at every resort town out West that has one.” Five years later, Harrison is an accomplished pilot and Barr’s airport dream is coming to life. Beginning in early December, 2015, the first commercial flights will fly directly from White Plains, N.Y., to Morrisville-Stowe, taking advantage of the recently rebuilt runway.

“There’s no TSA to go through, parking is free, there’s no traffic, and we have taxis and rental cars when you get here,” notes Tom Anderson, Stowe Aviation’s chief operating officer. “How easy is that?” The four weekend flights (two on Friday afternoon, and two returning on Sunday) will be operated by Tradewind Aviation, which also flies to Boston, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and St. Bart’s. Tradewind’s turboprop Pilatus PC-12s can take 8 passengers and flight time is an estimated 75 minutes.

“It’s all about saving time,” notes Toni Barr, Russ’s wife, who has been involved with raising money for the project. “You can buy a book of 10 one-way tickets for $250 each. That’s not much more than flying anywhere else and look at the time you save.” For private pilots, the rebuilt runway, de-icing services, heated hangars and aircraft maintenance are a plus.

“Having a good airport and direct service here will be a life-changer,” notes Jeff Wise, the marketing and communications director at Stowe Mountain Resort. Wise should know. More than 20 years ago he was a passenger in a private plane that was diverted due to weather and landed in Stowe. After visiting the town, Wise never left.

For airport and flight details visit Stowe Aviation