 Pocatello Regional Airport |
Bad news for southeast Idahoans needing to head to Boise: The only air connection from Pocatello to Boise seems about to depart. Big Sky Airlines, which is based in Montana, said it has been losing money on the twice-daily Pocatello-Boise flights and wants to end them, in another month. Pocatello officials are trying to get the company to hold on longer, or maybe try once-daily flights.
Aside from a charter service, Pocatello’s airport now is served by two air providers, Skywest Airlines, which has regular service to the Salt Lake City International airport, and Big Sky, with regular daily connector flights linking Pocatello and Boise Regional Airport. That would leave one of Idaho’s main secondary airports with scheduled flights only to . . . Utah.
What’s a little odd in this is that Pocatello has not been tanking economically. It’s actually been expanding, bringing in a batch new new businesses. Just today came an announcement from the Hawaiian firm Hoku Scientific: “Hoku Materials, a division of Hoku Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOKU), today announced it plans to build a $220 million polysilicon production plant in Pocatello with a payroll of 200 when the plant initiates operations. The City of Pocatello has reserved 450 acres of vacant land for Hoku’s facilities and future expansion. Subject to financing and other conditions, engineering and construction is planned to begin in the coming months and Hoku expects that the plant will be operational in late 2008. The Hawaii-based company focuses on clean energy technology and plans to produce a highly pure form of silicon, the key material used in most solar power systems.”
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