Work between the business community and the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport to broaden the direct flight service is heating up. A more focused effort to rally business community support is currently underway to demonstrate to United Airlines that a direct flight to Denver—a much needed east bound route that opens up more direct service to many cities—would be successful. Businesses are being asked for a non-binding pledge that represents the amount they would annually spend towards airline tickets from SLO to Denver in order to demonstrate that there is sufficient demand. The concept isn’t new; numerous communities around the US have pursued similar strategies to success. The goal is to build a business case for the expanded service by mid-to-late October with the goal of having the new service in place by May 2014. If you or your business would like to support this effort through a non-binding pledge, please share your interest here.