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Show ByJackWallis fV ) After over 30 years of continual passenger air service into Vernal, it was an emotional event Sunday evening to see the last regularly scheduled Frontier Airlines flight leave the Vernal airport. It has always been an impressive sight to watch the Convair 580's land and take-off at the Vernal airport every day. Even back in the DC-3 days, it was a thrilling experience to watch the plane come in and fly back out. We have always been fascinated by airplanes. air-planes. For many years Frontier has been threatening to pull out of Vernal. To begin with, local leaders fought tenaciously to convince the airline to stay. Our oil and gas service company economy depends on a commercial air carrier to transact much of its business. Many oil service companies would not be in Vernal today if it had not been for a commercial airline connecting Vernal to the outside world. At first the thoughts of going from a first line commercial air carrier to a commuter carrier seemed unacceptable. unac-ceptable. Going from a 50-passenger aircraft, which is the smallest of any major airlines, to a 19-passenger commuter aircraft seemed like a demotion. Transferring from a 50-passenger Convair 580 to a full-size jet aircraft is a shock, but going from a 19-passenger aircraft to a large jet seemed most unreasonable. But Saturday our qualms of flying in such a relatively small commercial aircraft were relieved. Sky West introduced in-troduced its new service into Vernal with free flights over the local area in its new Metroliner 3. We were impressed im-pressed with the comfortable and quiet feeling this aircraft possesses. It has a feeling of plenty of power and can fly at high altitudes over bad weather. One thing we disliked about the Frontier flights to Salt Lake City and Denver we have taken, is that we felt like we were hedge-hopping over the trees, compared com-pared to other commercial flights. We never seemed to get up in the clouds. Another nice feature of Sky West Airlines, which started its Vernal service Monday, is its convenient schedule. Four flights leave Vernal, one in the morning and three in the afternoon, for Salt Lake City and four flights leave Salt Lake City for Vernal five days a week. On Saturday and Sunday the schedule is cut to two flights each way. Another attractive feature of the new air service is the price. A person can now fly to Salt Lake City for only $56, which is about $30 less than it used to cost on Frontier. So by losing Frontier, we really haven't lost anything, we have actually gained two more flights into Salt Lake at a more reasonable price in an aircraft air-craft that is just as comfortable as the larger ones. Now that Sky West has come to Vernal, we hope it will make itself known. By this we mean to promote its Vernal service through the advertising media. By keeping its flight times and fares readily before the public, we think flying to Salt Lake City will catch on and increase in popularity. Frontier Airlines did not sell its Vernal passenger service. Sometimes we felt like Frontier was ashamed of its Vernal service and did not want the public to know of its scheduled flights and fare costs for Vernal. Seems like Frontier was only serving Vernal for its high volume of oil service freight that was dependent on a commercial carrier. Frontier has always recognized a government subsidy for its Vernal service. When this stopped. Frontier said it could no longer afford to serve Vernal. Sky West does not receive government govern-ment subsidy for its Vernal service, but it will carry U.S. mail. Sky West is depending on local residents to use its convenient passenger and freight services enough to justify its existance in Vernal. We hope that everyone will give Sky West a try and support its investment in the Vernal market. We are impressed with Sky West, its schedule, fare and aircraft seem to be great. And one more plus feature is the enthusiasm and confidence Sky West officers and personnel have in their new service to Vernal. We think this is just great. We now hope the local residents will give Sky West their business to insure "safe, reliable air service, providing our passengers with convenient, comfortable flights at an affordable price," a commitment made by Sky West Airlines over ten years ago. We hope the first flight Monday is the beginning of a new and lasting partnership part-nership with Sky West in the growing Vernal air service market. |