[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

First, if you haven’t already done so, you should send a copy of your letter to the actual operator of the flight from Arcata:

SkyWest Airlines
444 South River Road
St. George, Utah 84790
Ph. (435) 634-3000
Fax: (435) 634-3105

Sky West Air, not United, would also be the employer of the agent you were dealing with in Arcata. Some airports having only commuter service are very clear that someone else does the actual flying. The airport near me, in Cody, Wyoming (“COD”) has a big sign out front with the Sky West name. In fact, it’s only when you’re standing at the ticket counter do you see who Sky West does flying FOR (Delta and United in the case of Cody.

Of the three airlines selling tickets to Arcata, Alaska is probably your best bet. Horizon Air, Alaska’s commuter division, is wholly-owned by Alaska. On the other hand, Sky West Air is completely independent of Delta and United (the other two airlines selling tickets to Arcata.)

If you have time, and during the warm weather, Amtrak has service, from Redding to both Los Angeles and Seattle. Trains leave during the middle of the night and the travel time is about 18 hours. Not to anyone’s surprise the airline stooges on here think Amtrak travel is the funniest thing in the world. Probably because they see Amtrak as a threat. It looks like you have some mountain passes between Arcata and Redding. So I can appreciate a drive to Redding, during the winter, could be dangerous.

One of the reasons why I mentioned Amtrak, and something you must keep in mind, is that with crowded airports nowdays, anything less than perfect weather will cause severe delays, at best, if not outright cancellations. Fog is a schedule killer for ANY airport. Thus, no matter which airline you fly with there are certain type of weather that can shut any airline down. Having done my “commercial” for Amtrak, there is an airline stooge on here who would have you believe that Amtrak is every bit as sensitive to bad weather as the planes are.

Lastly, and keep this in mind for future travel: It’s unrealistic to expect you can fly, from point A, to point B, and arrive, at point B, anywhere near your scheduled arrival time. Scheduling a flight to a cruise port on the day of a sailing, or even the day before, is basically asking for trouble. The same principle would apply to important meetings; weddings, and funerals.