Flights from Lewiston, Pullman picking up

Commercial passenger airlines are gradually restoring service in the region after a dramatic reduction in the spring when much of the country was shut down because of the coronavirus.

The Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport is getting a third daily round trip on the route SkyWest flies to and from Salt Lake City starting Aug. 2. In May, SkyWest had a single flight on the route that didn’t fly every day.

The new flight will arrive in Lewiston at 4:10 p.m. and leave at 5 p.m. It is in addition to a flight that departs at 8:56 a.m. after spending the night in Lewiston, a midday flight that arrives at 1 p.m. from Salt Lake City and leaves 45 minutes later and an 8:41 p.m. arrival.

“The airport is pleased that SkyWest has committed a third flight,” said Michael Isaacs, airport director, in an email. “It will improve seat availability during peak days and offer travelers more convenient (times) to connect on other flights.”

Similarly, the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport is also anticipating getting a second round trip between Seattle and Pullman on Aug. 1 on Alaska Airlines’ Horizon Air flights. Right now, it has one flight that departs Pullman at 7 a.m. and arrives 12 hours later from Seattle.

In May, that flight stopped in Walla Walla too, but now it’s direct between Pullman and Seattle.

“Having an early flight out and a later flight in that meets the majority of Alaska’s current (connections) is appreciated,” said Pullman Airport Executive Director Tony Bean in an email.

The number of passengers on the departing flight is often more than 50, he said.

“Our discussions with Alaska indicate they are watching the flight loads carefully and will adjust to the need as they look at future bookings in the market,” Bean said.

The additional service from the region to hubs comes at a time when the Idaho Legislature has formed an interim study committee to strengthen commercial passenger service in the state.

Idaho Sen. Dan Johnson is a co-chairperson of the intrastate commercial air service committee, which expects to have its first meeting in upcoming weeks. (See accompanying side bar.)

That group will tackle the lack of air service connecting Boise with other population centers in Idaho.

The only way to fly to the state capital from Twin Falls, Idaho Falls, Sun Valley, Pocatello or Lewiston is to go to a city outside the state first, like Salt Lake City, and then board a connecting flight to Boise, Johnson said.

Gem Air may operate some of the only regularly scheduled passenger flights in Idaho, linking Boise to McCall, Stanley and Salmon for rafting trips on the Salmon River, he said.

A number of possibilities will be considered, such as having the aeronautics division of the Idaho Transportation Department put out a request for proposals asking for airlines to introduce service between Boise and other Idaho towns.

That would differ from the traditional role the aeronautics division has played, which has been more focused on the upkeep of runways.

It’s possible those routes might be subsidized temporarily with a five-year tax that might be placed on car rentals, an approach used in other states to generate revenue, or from grants or Idaho airports, Johnson said.

The committee may also learn more about flights that Empire Airlines, a Hayden Lake, Idaho, company that operates commuter flights between Hawaiian islands, Johnson said.

“Passengers are the ones that are going to have to pay for this, to make this thing work,” he said.

Interest in the committee’s work is widespread. The operators of Tamarack Resort in McCall, for example, would like to see more flights between McCall and Boise.

Almost 100 businesses have backed a route between Idaho Falls and Boise, Johnson said.

“There’s just a lot of things we’re going to be looking at,” he said.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.