The Wood River Valley's economy took another hit this week when Seattle-based Horizon Air confirmed it would not reopen the wintertime air route from Oakland to Friedman Memorial Airport this year.
The decision, Horizon Air marketing vice president Dan Russo said, is based on an uneconomically low load factor on the wintertime daily flight and soaring fuel prices that have brought gloom to the nation's air carriers.
Russo declined to give any statistics on the number of passengers carried on the flights.
He said Horizon's year-round service from Seattle to Hailey would continue and service from Los Angeles "is now being discussed."
The Oakland service normally operates for four months in the winter. It started in December 2003.
Carol Waller, executive director of the Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber and Visitors Bureau, seemed caught off guard when contacted by the Mountain Express for reaction. She said she would contact Russo to discuss the decision.
Although the number of tourists the Horizon flights generated was comparatively small, the service was important because it provided accessibility to Sun Valley, according to Jack Sibbach, marketing director for Sun Valley Resort.
"Anytime we lose accessibility, it becomes a roadblock" for the resort, Sibbach said. "Anytime we lose (airline) service, we take a step backward."
Sibbach cited Jackson Hole's competitive growth as an example of the importance of accessibility by air.
He said the Wyoming ski resort beat Sun Valley last winter in skier days—about 470,000 for Jackson Hole versus 410,000 for Sun Valley.
The difference he said is that Jackson Hole has ramped up air service with direct links to major markets. He said 15 percent of Jackson Hole's ski business last year involved visitors from abroad.
Larger aircraft serving longer non-stop flights account for much of Jackson Hole's success, Sibbach observed, whole noting that aircraft flying into Friedman Memorial Airport are limited.
Terrain surrounding Friedman, lack of a modern all-weather instrument landing system and safety limitations imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration restrict the airport to non-jet air carrier aircraft.
As for the effect on Friedman operations, Friedman Manager Rick Baird said that loss of the four-month winter service between Oakland would result in a minimal economic impact to overall operations. He said losses would mostly show up in aircraft fuel sales and the $4.50 Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) on each arriving passenger.
A search is under way now for a site to replace Friedman at a location allowing construction of at least one 8,500-foot runway with approach and takeoff corridors clear of any obstructing terrain and installation of a state-of-the-art instrument landing system.
Friedman's governing board has selected a site in southern Blaine County east of state Highway 75. However, the FAA requires a more extensive search as part of an environmental analysis that will consider other possible locales.
However, any such new airport could not be built and opened any earlier than 2017.
Hailey is not alone in an air service cutback. The Regional Airline Association predicts 100 small and medium-size U.S. communities will see service reduced, some even eliminated altogether, as airlines face staggering boosts in fuel costs—$14 billion spent in 2000, compared to an estimated $61 billion this year.
In scrambling to find savings, Horizon Air, for example, has charted a course that will eliminate its fleet of regional jets and ultimately rely only on the Bombardier Q400 turboprop, the type serving Friedman.