SkyWest Airlines announced this week that it will increase the frequency of flights it operates between Salt Lake City and the Wood River Valley.
The Utah-based air carrier on Wednesday, Feb. 2, announced that for the month of March it will add a ninth daily round trip between Salt Lake City and Friedman Memorial Airport, in Hailey. During the 2004-2005 ski season, the airline has been operating eight daily round-trip flights between the two areas.
In addition, SkyWest officials said, the airline will operate an extra flight between Salt Lake City and Hailey during the spring shoulder season, from April through early June. SkyWest typically operates seven daily round trips during the period but this year plans to maintain a schedule with eight daily round-trip flights.
SkyWest—which has served the Wood River Valley in a partnership with Delta Airlines since 1990—will also increase the number of flights it will operate to and from the Wood River Valley this summer.
From June 7 through Sept. 30, the airline will offer 11 daily round-trip flights between Salt Lake City and Hailey, instead of the nine daily flights offered last summer.
The increase in SkyWest flights to and from Hailey is part of a larger plan by the airline to increase flight frequencies between Salt Lake City and seven markets in the West.
Steven Hart, SkyWest vice president of market development, said the increase in flights reflects the company's "commitment" to serving the Wood River Valley.
"SkyWest has never offered as many flights into and out of Friedman Memorial Airport as we'll soon be operating with our new schedule," he said.
Jack Sibbach, director of sales and marketing for Sun Valley Resort, said the announcement was good news for the Wood River Valley tourism industry.
"It means that their (passenger) numbers are good," Sibbach said.
Sibbach noted that passenger numbers have been mixed so far this winter on three other direct airline routes into the Wood River Valley, all of which are operated by Seattle-based Horizon Air.
Ticket sales for direct flights between Hailey and two California cities—Oakland and Los Angeles—have been "good," he said, while passenger numbers between Hailey and Seattle are down from previous years.
Sibbach attributed the drop in passengers on the Seattle route to a severe lack of snow in Washington, which has fostered false perceptions that the entire Northwest—including Sun Valley—has poor skiing.
"Our mountain is in good shape," Sibbach said.
Anette Keller, a Transportation Safety Administration employee, searches baggage at the SkyWest Airlines check-in counter at Friedman Memorial Airport. Photo by David N. Seelig
