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Steamboat Springs — Dismal news from United Airlines corporate offices shouldn't affect flights at Yampa Valley Regional Airport, officials said.

Times are tough for United, which experienced a $537 million net loss in the first quarter of 2008, the Rocky Mountain News reported Tuesday. Reports about the airline's plans to reduce flights and eliminate jobs are flooding the media.

The problems, which have affected many airlines, are attributed mostly to high fuel costs. Crude oil is hovering near $120 a barrel.

YVRA's only flights until summer are United Express routes to Denver, three of which run daily between the Hayden facility and Denver International Airport, YVRA Manager Dave Ruppel said.

"We haven't seen any impact, and we don't anticipate any impact from it," Ruppel said.

That is largely because the airline has a contractual relationship with Steamboat Springs, which collects a lodging tax to help support air service. The local United flights are all but guaranteed.

However, issues in Denver could affect folks flying into and out of YVRA.

Denver is the secondary hub for Chicago-based United, Denver airport spokesman Chuck Cannon said. The airline plans to cut domestic capacity by 9 percent this year, the Rocky Mountain News reported Wednesday.

"We are still identifying the specifics of the capacity reduction we announced yesterday," United spokesman Jeff Kovick said Wednesday in an e-mail.

The effect of the cuts in Denver might be minimal, Cannon said.

"Probably United has maybe 400 or 500 flights a day through here, so if they cut a few, it is not going to have a lot of impact," he said.

But fewer flights in Denver would mean fewer connecting flights for potential Yampa Valley visitors, said Andy Wirth, Intrawest's executive vice president of sales and marketing and chief marketing officer. Intrawest is the parent company of Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp., which negotiates the contracts with airlines.

"It won't impact the flights we guarantee," Wirth said. "What it will impact is the number of seats that fly in to connect to those flights, and that is of note."

He said Ski Corp. will keep a careful eye on the industry.

United isn't the only airline pulling back as fuel prices soar. Frontier has dropped five routes and its recently announced service to Missoula, Mont., the Rocky Mountain News reported. The airline no longer will fly to Sioux City, Iowa; Jacksonville, Fla.; Little Rock, Ark.; Memphis, Tenn.; or Tulsa, Okla.

Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, which were planning to merge, reported a combined loss of more than $10 billion in profits in the first quarter, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.

- To reach Blythe Terrell, call 871-4234

or e-mail bterrell@steamboatpilot.com