Target arrives in Missoula following western tour amid 2026 store expansion drive

Target flew from Salt Lake City International Airport to Missoula Montana Airport on May 7, 2026, covering 1 hour and 27 minutes in its Gulfstream G280. The short hop capped a day of travel for the Minneapolis-based retailer, which has been crisscrossing the American heartland in recent days.

The timing aligns with Target's aggressive push into physical retail, as the company opens six new stores this May in Arizona, Missouri, New Jersey, and North Carolina—part of more than 30 planned for 2026, according to a corporate press release from April. With capital investments topping $5 billion this year, per a March announcement, such trips likely involve assessing operations at existing outposts like the longstanding Missoula store on North Reserve Street, where executives can gauge performance in a key western market.

This Missoula landing fits a pattern of brisk regional jaunts: earlier on May 7, the jet shuttled from Chicago to Columbus, Ohio, while May 6 saw stops in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Utah—echoing Target's routine business beats of store visits and supply chain checks from its home base in Minneapolis.