ROUND-TRIP FLIGHTS BETWEEN IDAHO FALLS AND RENO COMING THIS AUGUST
By JAKOB THORINGTON jthorington@postregister.com
Jun 9, 2022
Idaho Falls Regional Airport Director Rick Cloutier speaks during a May 2022 press conference. On Thursday, Cloutier announced round-trip flights between Idaho Falls and Reno offered by aha! will begin this August.
Idaho Falls Regional Airport will offer a new route to and from Reno starting this August.
Airport Director Rick Cloutier announced the route during a Thursday press conference. The route is a nonstop flight that begins Aug. 11 provided by aha!, a Reno-Tahoe based airline powered by ExpressJet Airlines.
The airline will fly to and from Idaho Falls two days a week on Thursday and Sunday using a 50-seat regional jet, according to an aha! news release. Flights will be approximately 95 minutes and will depart Idaho Falls at 10:55 a.m. and arrive in Reno at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time. Flights will depart from Reno at 7:40 a.m. Pacific Time and return to Idaho Falls at 10:15 a.m.
“With this new flight, travel between the two areas can take away that lengthy nine-hour (layover) flight to just a little over an hour,” Cloutier said. "It’ll really add a lot of connectivity from both the regions to be able to explore different opportunities."
Aha! is celebrating the launch of the Idaho Falls flight with a limited one-way sales fare of $29. The fares must be booked by using promo code RENOSUMMER29 by June 13 through flyaha.com or by 775-439-0888.
“We are thrilled to offer eastern Idaho residents with the opportunity to explore the incredible gaming, dining, shows, and indoor/outdoor fun of Reno and Lake Tahoe without lengthy drives or layovers,” said Tim Sieber, head of ExpressJet’s aha! business unit in the news release. “The easy access to Yellowstone, the Greenbelt, museums and other treasures will surely attract a lot of Reno residents to Idaho Falls.”
The new route adds a sixth airline that operates out of Idaho Falls Regional Airport. Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper said she credited Cloutier with the airport’s annual $270 million in economic impact it brings to the region and the new flight offerings over the last few years.
“Airports our size aren’t supposed to be this successful but we are,” Casper said. “Eastern Idaho has certainly been discovered by the outside world and that has certainly been a big driver of this but that’s happening everywhere (in the western U.S.).”
Idaho Falls Regional Airport had its busiest year yet in 2021, breaking its previous passenger record total by more than 100,000. Additionally, Alaska Airlines daily round-trip flights between Idaho Falls and Boise will start on June 16.