Boutique Air is an experienced commuter in the Essential Air Service market. The airline operates a dozen EAS contracts across the entire country utilizing a diverse fleet of Pilatus PC-12, Beechcraft King Air 350 and Piaggio P180. I took a cross-country EAS Journey, exploring every EAS Carrier in great detail. This segment took me from Albuquerque to Dallas (DFW) on one of their 27 PC-12. The web site is very user friendly, with a simple booking tool and the opportunity to save account information (booking took a minute, seriously). There is a chat feature on their web site for any quick questions and a detailed flight status page. You can check in online 24 hours in advance and get a mobile pass, which is very convenient. Boutique even offers voucher packs of 10 tickets for frequent travelers. They even have a codeshare with United, so I was able to earn United Miles on Boutique Air flight (Boutique also partners with American for baggage transfers). Prices are sold based off seat availability, less seats means higher prices (straight up supply and demand). Since I booked closer to departure, only two seats were left and I paid the higher refundable fare. On the day of travel, I arrived from a delayed Advanced Air flight from Silver City. While I was waiting in Silver City, I received text notifications and email from Boutique informing me of a three hour delay due to maintenance. While I was relieved about not missing my connection, I knew this would result in a long wait. After I arrived into Albuquerque, the gate (outside of security) was located right next to Advanced. This makes for very convenient and simple travel to/from Carlsbad. I checked in my bag and was offered a variety of snacks/drinks (similar to Advanced during their delay). The delay was pushed back another 30 minutes due to en-route weather (large cluster of thunderstorms across New Mexico). Eventually the aircraft arrived and fueled up for our departure. We taxied out to the runway and had to wait as a strong, fast moving cell approached over the airport. Eventually, we departed from Albuquerque and made a giant C around New Mexico to get down to Carlsbad (close to El Paso; we could even see the city from above!). In flight, there was a variety of self-service snacks and drinks available. There is no in flight entertainment, so I watched some downloaded movies. The in flight power was also not working, which was disappointing as I needed to charge my phone. Pilatus seats are designed by BMW and are very comfortable. The first couple rows have plenty of legroom, even with someone sitting in front of me. We eventually made a very smooth touchdown into Carlsbad and waited inside the terminal as they reloaded the aircraft and prepared for our continuation onto Dallas. Neither passengers nor CSA wore masks in Carlsbad, however, on board and at the other locations everyone was mask compliant. The Dallas flight boarded four hours behind schedule. Initially, I sat in row 3 but the first officer asked if I could sit in the last row. There seemed to be quite a bit of confusion between the two pilots for this decision but I sat in the last row regardless. After takeoff, the person in front of me kept trying to recline her seat (even after I asked nicely to stop) which pressed into my knees. The woman next to me was holding a lap child and extended her bag and knees into the aisle, so I had no where to move my legs. I'm over 6' tall and this was by far one of the most uncomfortable flights in my life (definitely top 3). There needs to be more legroom if the seats are going to have recline. The back seat also had limited recline and seat padding, which added to the discomfort. It was impossible to sleep with the discomfort, and we finally landed at DFW well after midnight. Our bags were brought into the corporate terminal and I was offered a ride to an on-airport hotel with the complimentary shuttle service. Overall, I enjoyed the experience with Boutique. There was very frequent updates of our flight status, great customer service and it was fun riding in the PC-12. The biggest complaint will be the seat comfort in the last row which made an otherwise uneventful flight, very unpleasant. The prices and service Boutique offers is very convenient for locals and offers a great alternative to commuters between Albuquerque and Dallas. read more