TUS November eNews

Year Round Nonstops to Portland

Nonstop to Portland, OR (PDX) just got even easier! Alaska Airlines announced that this route, which was a seasonal route, has been changed to a year-round route at TUS. Austin Wright, TAA’s Chief Communications Officer who oversees strategic Marketing, Communications and Air Service Development, said, “TAA’s Air Service Development team travelled to Seattle, WA, last month to meet with Alaska route planning. As a result of this meeting, we are delighted to have this seasonal route become year-round.”  Following an impressive $2 billion expansion at PDX, Alaska continues to bolster service at PDX, which is not only a heavily flown point to point route from Tucson, but adds great connectivity to our route network on a year-round basis.

Please spread the word on this flight, and remember, we must use it, or we could lose it. Fly local, fly TUS!

TAA, Desert Hospitality and Visit Tucson Provide Major Support for Federal Employees

There is an interesting and symbiotic relationship between commercial service airports, airlines, and the federal work force within the aviation sector. To be successful, we must all work together to ensure the travel experience and journey is seamless. When one sector is out of synchronization, it has an impact on the other sectors with possible downstream consequences. Such is the case as the federal shutdown continues, and federal workers are required to show up as “essential workers.” 

While we appreciate that these “essential workers,” which for our sector is the Federal Aviation Administration (Air Traffic Control, Technical Operations), Transportation Security Administration (Transportation Security Officers), and Customs and Border Protection (processing international flights), are coming to work each day, we know the government shutdown has taken a toll of them.

To ease the burden, the TAA began a food and supply drive to help support our airport community federal workers. At the onset of the federal shutdown, donations were coming in from TAA workers. However, as the shutdown continued, we knew we needed to partner with the tourism sector.

Ghee Alexander, COO of Desert Hospitality, and Felipe Garcia, President/CEO Visit Tucson, have led the efforts within their organizations to make massive donations to the TAA food pantry, which is working to provide food items, including pet food and non-perishable supplies, to support our federal workforce (TSA, FAA, CBP). Their generosity speaks to the positive spirit of Southern Arizona, specifically within the tourism sector. We appreciate their organizations for their incredible support and partnership.

TAA Featured in the Arizona Trend Report

TAA was honored to be included in the recent issue of Trend Report, highlighting the impressive $10.9 billion annual economic impact on Southern Arizona. Click the link below to read the full article.

University of Arizona in the Airport

TUS was proud to welcome home Wildcats!

The TAA and the University of Arizona continue to join forces, this time welcoming hundreds of alumni, students, and family members joining the Homecoming festivities on campus.

TUS was proud to play the U of A fight song and a special welcome message from U of A President Suresh Garimella in the terminal, along with an interactive welcome area on the arrivals level of both the A and B terminals. TUS is proud to serve the University of Arizona community! Go Wildcats!

Traveling for the Holidays? Let Us Get You There

Holiday travel is quickly approaching. TUS is truly the EASY choice for holiday travel. With over 70 peak daily departures, 19 nonstop destinations, and access to nearly 500 worldwide destinations with just a single stop; TUS truly can get you anywhere for the holidays.

When you fly local, you not only save time, but you save money too. With the average fare difference between TUS and Phoenix on average being just $45 dollars, our parking costs alone can offset that difference. flying TUS is the way to go! Fly local, Fly TUS! We Make it Easy to Fly!

Featured Artist: Amber Stene

The TAA is proud to showcase local artists as part of our rotating art exhibits at TUS. This month we highlighted Amber Stene. Amber says she developed an early love for art, “At age seven I took private art lessons from a teacher who regularly held sessions at the San Xavier Mission. That led to a career in advertising spanning decades. Then after earning an MFA in 2008, I focused on fine art. Since then, I’ve taught art at the university level, shown artwork nationally, exhibiting regularly at Tohono Chul, and am a guest artist at Madaras Gallery in Tucson.”

Growing up in the Tucson area, she viewed our nature and surroundings as commonplace, but after moving away from Southern Arizona and returning home in 2021, she, “fell under the spell of the Sonoran Desert and wanted to celebrate its unique beauty in my art.”

She starts each work as an abstract painting that expresses the harsh desert conditions, then she integrates the animal into the abstract, allowing subject and abstract elements to coexist.

Check out Amber Stone and her work on here website www.amberstene.com on social media @amberstene