The sign that greets passengers at Redmond Airport. 

Trips to watch Major League Baseball’s spring training or the Ducks and Beavers playing on the road might soon be a bit more manageable.

The Redmond Airport has secured a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation specifically designed to attract air service from Redmond to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, city officials announced Wednesday.

The grant, which is part of the federal government’s Small Community Air Service Development Program, does not guarantee flight service, but is the first step in helping the airport attract a seventh direct connection. According to the Department of Transportation’s award notice, American Airlines is the targeted air carrier.

“This helps us with our continual effort to pursue and bring nonstop air service from Redmond to Phoenix,” Redmond City Manager Keith Witcosky said Wednesday. “That flight has been successful in the past.”

From October 2008 to August 2012, Allegiant Air, which no longer operates out of the Redmond Airport, offered twice-weekly flights from Redmond to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.

“Right now we have direct flights to six different cities,” said Witcosky, referencing the Redmond Airport’s connections to Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles, though the LA flight is temporarily suspended until December. “Adding a seventh direct flight to Phoenix accesses the southwestern part of the U.S.”

More than 58,000 passengers passed through the Redmond Airport in July, the most in the airport’s history.

The 58,360 travelers this July was an increase of almost 9 percent over the previous high of 53,720 passengers, a mark set in July 2014.

“This grant guarantees revenues (for a carrier) to get the flight up and off the ground,” Witcosky said. “The number of round trips is something that will be discussed.”

With the airport set to close for three weeks in May due to a runway reconstruction project, Witcosky predicted that any new flights would likely not start until June 2016.

“That’s my initial understanding from conversations with carriers,” he said. “They’d prefer to start after the runway project is complete. You wouldn’t want to open a new restaurant and close it for three weeks.”

Phoenix is being targeted by the Redmond Airport in large part because of its multiple connecting flights across the U.S., Witcosky said.

“We always want to create those connections,” Witcosky emphasized.

“It’s that whole hub-and-spoke concept. … How can we get you in the shortest period of time to a destination that gets you to other destinations?”

— Reporter: 541-617-7829, beastes@bendbulletin.com