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Show Utah Commuter Air Service Study Underway The Utah Department of Transportation is examining the potential for scheduled commuter air service to Utah's smaller communities. TAP, Inc., an aviation consulting firm of Bozeman, Montana, is conducting a commuter air service study for the UDOT. Commuter airlines, like major lines, must meet National Na-tional Transportation Safety Board standards but generally fly smaller aircraft, usually carrying no more than 20 passengers. This means operating oper-ating costs are less and they can fly from smaller airports without extensive ground facilities. facil-ities. These conditions allow commuter airlines to serve smaller cities and towns where scheduled airline service has either not been available or where costs have forced larger carriers to curtail service. Local input is necessary to document the need and estimate current and future demand for commuter air service. Representatives from TAP and the UDOT will be contacting officials and visiting visit-ing communities throughout the state to determine which areas are interested in and willing to support such a program. If the study indicates enough demand and enough support for scheduled commuter com-muter service, trial routes could be established as early as summer of 1977. |