Horizon Air Adding Seasonal Los Angeles Flights to Sun Valley

Horizon Air is bringing back direct service from Los Angeles to Sun Valley for the 2009/10 winter season and adding flights from Los Angeles for the 2010 summer season. The airline will also operate flights between Boise and Sun Valley during these periods. Currently, Horizon serves Sun Valley from Seattle only.

Horizon will operate one daily direct flight from Los Angeles (LAX), Boise and Seattle to Sun Valley during the ski season from Dec. 19, 2009, through March 21, 2010, and the summer season from May 28 (Seattle) and June 26 (Los Angeles/Boise) through Sept. 6, 2010.

Horizon’s new Sun Valley winter and summer service replaces the current year-round schedule from Seattle only, which will end after Sept. 7 and resume in the winter.

Here’s the schedule:

* Stops in Boise

All flights to Sun Valley will be operated with 76-seat Bombardier Q400s. This high-speed, twin-engine turboprop is one of the most technologically advanced regional aircraft in the world. It's as quiet and comfortable as a jet -– thanks to special technology that suppresses noise and vibration, generously sized overhead storage bins, unobstructed under-seat space, and ample headroom (6 feet, 5 inches). The Q400 is also among the most environmentally friendly aircraft today, burning 30 percent to 40 percent less fuel and producing an equally lower amount of emissions (and 10 decibels less noise) than comparable jets.

Flights to Sun Valley land at Friedman Memorial Airport in the nearby city of Hailey. The airport is just 12 miles from the Ketchum/Sun Valley resort area and accessible via rental cars, cabs, and shuttle buses.

Sun Valley’s 74th winter season promises to be one of the best ever, with several new amenities added to cherished wintertime pleasures like ice-skating, sleigh rides and hot pools. Among the new features is a gondola service that takes guests in eight minutes from River Run Plaza to Baldy’s famous Roundhouse Restaurant. The gondola climbs 2,000 vertical feet and is capable of carrying 1,800 passengers per hour. And back on the valley floor, there’s a new hot spot for dining, cross country skiing and après-ski -– the Sun Valley Club.

Horizon Air has served Sun Valley since 1982. Horizon serves 47 cities throughout Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Baja California Sur (Mexico), and British Columbia and Alberta (Canada). Together, Horizon Air and Alaska Airlines serve more than 90 cities and are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK).