The planes are called regional jets, and passengers and airlines are in love with them. 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.
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. 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.