The little jet that could
New gee-whiz planes change the face of regional air service
By TRAVIS PURSER
Express Staff Writer
There’s
a recent trend in the air carrier industry that has regional airlines like Horizon and
SkyWest deploying small, new, efficient jets, while small communities like the Wood River
Valley speculate about whether they’ll continue to have air service in the wake of
the change.
The planes are called regional jets, and passengers and airlines are in
love with them.
The 50-seat versions of bigger planes like the DC-9 or Boeing 737 can do
almost everything the tried-and-true turboprop can do, only better.
The minijets fly higher, faster and farther with greater efficiency than
turboprops. And in dicey weather, industry experts say they fly as smoothly and
comfortably as their big jet counterparts.
What’s more, representatives from Horizon and SkyWest say the little
jets’ range and speed could mean a non-stop connection between Hailey and major
cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Denver for the first time ever.
And, the regional jets are remarkably quiet.
So what’s the problem?
Some airlines say they hope to replace all their existing turboprops with
regional jets. And, both SkyWest and Horizon, the Wood River Valley’s two regularly
scheduled air service providers, say they have no intention of flying regional jets into
the area. Those two facts combined have caused some to sound the alarm.
"We’re hearing from industry experts that communities need to be
ready for the regional jet," Hailey airport manager Rick Baird said during an
interview at his office Friday, "or it may not be a matter of whether you have them,
but whether you have service at all."
This month marked the arrival at SkyWest of the first regional jets out of
more than 50 on order from Canadian manufacturer Bombardier Aircraft Corp.
On June 12, Horizon announced that it, too, had ordered regional jets from
Bombardier, 30 in all, with 14 to arrive between December 2000 and October 2001.
Baird has been spearheading a six-year renovation of the airport. With the
project scheduled for completion in about a year, he says now that the airport board of
trustees should consider updating the renovation plan to make the runway and other
infrastructure more suitable for the new jets.
Even though airlines say they don’t plan on flying the jet into the
area, Baird remains confident airlines can be enticed to do so.
Baird said that everything from economics to aerodynamics affects whether
air carriers will fly regional jets into the valley.
Five years ago, the airport conducted a test flight of a regional jet into
Hailey and the plane performed fine, Baird said.
However, because the jets land and take off at faster speeds than the
turboprops the two airlines have been using to service the area, Baird said the runway
needs to be extended and obstacles such as taxiways, buildings and airplane parking areas
need to be moved farther away from the runway.
Also, at $20 million dollars for a regional jet, compared to $6 million to
$15 million for a turboprop, airlines can’t afford to allow the jets to sit idle on
the ground for long, as they most likely would servicing Hailey, Baird said.
It may seem that the airport and airlines could reach an agreement that
guaranteed regional jet service to Hailey on the condition that the airport provide the
necessary improvements. But in reality, Baird said most of the communication is between
the resort environment and the carriers, rather than between the airport and carriers.
The airport, he said, strives to understand the challenges carriers face
and make an educated guess about what infrastructure to provide to encourage topnotch
service. And that’s not unusual. "We’re not the only community in the
country doing this," he said.
As for Horizon and SkyWest, they discount the impact the new jets will
have on the Wood River Valley.
They say they have no plans to fly the jets into the area, while at the
same time, they have no plans to discontinue turboprop service.
In fact, Horizon vice president of marketing and planning Patrick
Zachwieja said during a telephone interview Monday that his airline has ordered a new
fleet of Dash 8 turboprops to replace the current Dash 8s the airline flies into the area.
The new Dash 8s, he said, will carry 33 more passengers than the old aircraft, will have
more room for luggage and equipment and will fly nearly 100 knots faster.
"Some carriers have made statements about going all jet,"
Zachwieja said, "but that’s certainly not true for Horizon."
Both Zachwieja and SkyWest vice president of marketing development Steve
Hart said that regional jets currently aren’t suitable for high-altitude airports.
During a Monday telephone interview, Hart said the jets may fly faster and
higher than turboprops once they’re in the air, but the jets’ swept-wing design
means they take longer than turboprops to take off and climb.
Hailey’s surrounding "box canyon," he said, means regional
jets can’t service the area with a full load. And, without a full load, jet service
can’t be economically viable, he said.
Nevertheless, Hart said SkyWest won’t leave markets like Sun Valley
without turboprop service.
Both airlines said they plan to address the airport board this summer to
discuss updating the airport renovation master plan and to discuss the future of air
carrier service in the Wood River Valley.
