Air Service into Sun Valley Just Got Better
Last ski season, SKI Magazine readers voted Sun Valley
- #1 in Grooming
- #1 in Lifts
- #1 in Kid-Friendly Atmosphere
- #1 in Overall Satisfaction
But year-after-year we fall short in the accessibility department due to the isolated nature of the resort and the precarious mountains surrounding the Sun Valley airport. But now we can be overly enthusiastic in praying for more snow without having to worry about putting a curse on incoming flights to Hailey's Friedman Memorial Airport, which services the Sun Valley resort. Diversions of flights from Sun Valley due to inclement weather and low-hanging cloud cover might soon be a thing of the past.
The Federal Aviation Administration just approved a new instrument-approach procedure used by Horizon Air. According to a press release from Alaska Airlines, this means that flight diversions due to inclement weather should plunge by 95 percent, from 40 to 50 per year down to one or two. According to the press release, the new technology removes the need to have ground-based navigation aids, because the technology has a precise, three-dimensional curved flight path to follow. Alaska Airlines has used this Required Navigation Performance (RNP) technology for two decades, and currently uses it at airports in Alaska, San Diego, Pullman, Wash., and Palm Springs, Calif. To read more, Idaho Mountain Express.
And that's not all.
We now have more direct flights into Sun Valley, too.
We now have more direct flights into Sun Valley and Portland was just added to the list. According to the Fly Sun Valley Alliance press release:
Here is a summary of the new and expanded air service to/from Sun Valley (SUN) for the 2016/17 winter season:
- New nonstop flight from Portland (PDX) to Sun Valley (SUN) on Alaska Airlines, starting Dec 17, 2016. The new flight will run twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, for the winter season as well as during the summer 2017 season.
- Alaska will expand its winter flights from Seattle (SEA) to start in time for Thanksgiving, with additional weekend flights on Saturdays and Sundays added during February and March.
- Delta Air Lines will also be offering a new daily nonstop flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to SUN for the winter season, as well as new daily nonstop flight from Seattle to SUN during the holidays and on Saturdays throughout the winter.
- United Airlines will now offer both its San Francisco (SFO) and Denver (DEN) flights daily during the full winter season.
Flights are available for booking at www.alaskaair.com, www.united.com and www.delta.com.
