Boise Airport

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For the airport serving Boise City, Oklahoma, see Boise City Airport.
Boise Airport
Boise Air Terminal
Gowen Field
Boise Airport-ID-05 July 1998-USGS.jpg
1998 USGS Photo
IATA: BOI – ICAO: KBOI – FAA LID: BOI
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator City of Boise
Serves Boise, Idaho
Elevation AMSL 2,871 ft / 875 m
Coordinates 43°33′52″N 116°13′22″W / 43.56444°N 116.22278°W / 43.56444; -116.22278
Website www.iflyboise.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
10L/28R 10,000 3,048 Asphalt
10R/28L 9,763 2,976 Asphalt
Statistics (2008, 2010)
Aircraft operations (2008) 145,013
Based aircraft (2008) 240
Total Passengers (2010) 2,805,691
Source: ACI,[1] Federal Aviation Administration[2] Boise Airport[3]
Boise Airport is located in Idaho
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Boise Airport
Location of Boise Airport, Idaho

Boise Airport (IATA: BOI, ICAO: KBOI, FAA LID: BOI), also known as Boise Air Terminal[2][4] or Gowen Field,[2][4] is a joint civil-military, commercial[5] and general aviation[6] airport located three nautical miles (6 km) south of downtown Boise in Ada County, Idaho, USA.[2] The airport is operated by the city of Boise Department of Aviation and is overseen by an Airport Commission.[7]

Boise is a landing rights airfield requiring international general aviation flights to receive permission from a Customs and Border Protection officer before landing on the field.[6]

In addition to being a commercial and general aviation airport, Boise also sees usage by the Idaho Air National Guard on the Gowen Field Air National Guard Base portion of the airport. The National Interagency Fire Center is based in the city of Boise and the Boise Airport is used for logistical support. The United States Forest Service also uses Boise Airport as a base for aerial firefighting air tankers during the wildfire season.[8]

2,805,692 passengers transited Boise Airport in 2010, a negligible change from 2009.[3] For 2009, Boise Airport ranked 76th in passenger enplanements among U.S. airports.[9]

Contents

[edit] History

In 1926, the first municipal airport in Boise was built on a gravel bed where the Boise State University campus now stands. The first commercial airmail flight in the United States passed through this airfield on April 26, 1926, carried by Varney Airlines. Varney Airlines began operating out of Boise in 1933, later merging with National Air Transport to become United Airlines. With United Airlines able to trace its roots to Varney, United is recognized as the airline that has operated the longest out of Boise, 83 years as of 2009. This airfield also played host to Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis on September 4, 1927.[7]

The current airport has its origins in 1936 when Boise began buying and leasing land for the airport. By 1938, Boise had the longest runway in the United States at that time, 8,800 feet (2,680 m). The steel hangar for Varney Airlines was moved to the present field in 1939. As the size of aircraft grew, the hangar was no longer able to hold aircraft and was converted into a passenger terminal. It was part of the modern terminal facility until the completion of a new terminal in 2004.

During World War II, the Army Air Corps, later Army Air Forces, leased the field for use a training base for B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator bomber crews. More than 6,000 men were stationed there during the war.[7]

The field was named Gowen Field on July 23, 1941 after 1st Lt Paul R. Gowen (1909–1938), who was born and raised in Caldwell, attended the University of Idaho, and graduated ninth in his class at West Point in 1933. Gowen was killed instantly in a crash in Panama in July 1938 while piloting a twin-engine B-10 bomber for the Army Air Corps. The right engine failed shortly after take-off from Albrook Field, near Panama City. The other two crew members, navigator and radio operator, survived and crawled from the wreckage with burns.[10]

After the war, the portion of the field used by the Army Air Forces was returned to the city.[7] The Idaho Air National Guard began leasing the airfield after the war and continues to lease it currently.[7]

Between 2003 and 2005, the Boise Airport was remodeled. The airport now features a brand new terminal and an elevated roadway for departures. There were two different phases that were done when doing the new passenger terminal. Phase 1 considered things like baggage claim, lobby, and food and beverage concession Phase 2 was more about security checkpoints and a brand new concourse (Concourse C.

The Boise Airport Passenger Terminal.

The Boise Airport Passenger Terminal designed by CSHQA is a three-story, steel-framed 378,000-square-foot (35,100 m2) state-of-the-art aviation facility. Curvilinear, steel trusses create the undulating ceiling plane of the ticket lobby and define the signature profile of the building. The terminal has garnered national attention for the beauty of its design and is considered a prototypical post 9/11 facility.[11]

The Boise Airport was ranked fourth in passenger satisfaction in the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Global Airport Satisfaction Index Study.[12]

The Boise Airport was a hub for Horizon Air from the late 1980s to the early 2000s with over 50 flights to 15 destinations at its peak, but was scaled down post 9/11. It currently serves as a minor focus city.

[edit] Facilities

Boise Airport covers an area of 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) at an elevation of 2,871 feet (875 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways:

  • Runway 10L/28R: 10,000 x 150 feet (3,048 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt, Weight capacity: 75,000 pounds (34,000 kg)/single wheel; VASI system[2]
  • Runway 10R/28L: 9,763 x 150 feet (2,976 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt, Weight capacity: 75,000 pounds (34,000 kg)/single wheel; VASI, ILS/DME[2]

For the 12-month period ending April 30, 2007, the airport had 184,023 aircraft operations, an average of 504 per day: 52% general aviation, 23% scheduled commercial, 18% air taxi, 7% military. At that time there were 286 aircraft based at this airport: 58% single-engine, 10% multi-engine, 7% jet, 9% helicopter and 16% military.[2]

In 2005, over 3 million passengers passed through the Boise airport.[7]

The airport can handle minor maintenance and repairs through fixed base operators Jackson Jet Center, Turbo Air and Western Aircraft.[6]

The new air traffic control tower under construction in 2009.

Law enforcement at the airport is handled by the Boise Police Department. The Airport Division has an authorized strength of 1 lieutenant, 2 sergeants, and 28 officers. There are currently 5 TSA certified K-9 units trained in explosive detection.[7]

[edit] New ATC Tower

On January 4, 2008, city officials broke ground for Boise Air Terminal's latest improvement, a new air traffic control tower. As of today the tower is complete and stands 295 feet (90 m) tall, being Idaho's tallest structure and the Pacific Northwest's tallest control tower. It has also been relocated to the south side of the airport in order to control an existing Guard assault strip and a possible new runway south of Gowen Field. The tower was planned and constructed when it was believed that the radar functions would be moved to Salt Lake City. After it was decided to leave the radar positions in Boise, the facility at the base of the tower had to be redesigned and partially remodeled to house the Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON). The tower and TRACON will not be operational until 2012 or 2013, as the FAA makes the changes and adds new equipment to the facility.

[edit] Gowen Field Air National Guard Base

C-130s previously operated by the Idaho ANG parked on the ramp at Gowen Field.

Gowen Field Air National Guard Base primarily refers to the military facilities on the south side of the runways, which includes Air National Guard, Army National Guard, and reserve units of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. The field is home to the 124th Fighter Wing (124 FW), Idaho Air National Guard, which consists of one flying squadron operationally-gained by the Air Combat Command (ACC) and 12 additional support units. The aircraft based at Gowen Field ANGB is the A-10 Thunderbolt II close air support attack aircraft of the 190th Fighter Squadron (190 FS). The 124 FW was previously designated as the 124th Wing (124 WG) until 2009 and as a composite unit also operated C-130 Hercules transport aircraft in the 189th Airlift Squadron (189 AS), which was operationally-gained by the Air Mobility Command (AMC). BRAC 2005 directed that the Idaho Air National Guard divest itself of the C-130 mission by 2009, transferring its C-130s to the Wyoming Air National Guard, while retaining its A-10 fighter mission. The 124 FW is composed of over 1000 military personnel, ranging from full-time Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) and Air Reserve Technicians (ART) to traditional part-time air national guardsmen.[8][13]

[edit] Airlines and destinations

A number of scheduled airline flights pass through Boise. In addition to scheduled airlines, there are several charter companies that operate out of Boise.

Airlines Destinations Concourse
Alaska Airlines operated by Horizon Air Lewiston, Portland (OR), Sacramento, San Jose (CA), Seattle/Tacoma, Sun Valley C
Delta Air Lines Minneapolis/St. Paul, Salt Lake City B
Delta Connection operated by Compass Airlines Minneapolis/St. Paul, Salt Lake City B
Delta Connection operated by SkyWest Airlines Salt Lake City B
Southwest Airlines Denver, Las Vegas, Oakland, Portland (OR), Phoenix, Spokane B
United Airlines Chicago-O’Hare, Denver B
United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines Chicago-O’Hare, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco B
United Express operated by GoJet Airlines Chicago-O’Hare B
US Airways Phoenix B

[edit] Statistics

Top Ten Domestic Routes Out of Boise Airport (November 2010 - October 2011) [14]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Utah Salt Lake City, UT 224,000 Delta
2 Colorado Denver, CO 216,000 Southwest, United
3 Washington (state) Seattle/Tacoma, WA 198,000 Alaska
4 Oregon Portland, OR 133,000 Alaska, Southwest
5 Arizona Phoenix, AZ 99,000 Southwest, US Airways
6 Minnesota Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN 65,000 Delta
7 Nevada Las Vegas, NV 64,000 Southwest
8 Washington (state) Spokane, WA 57,000 Southwest
9 Illinois Chicago, IL (O'Hare) 56,000 United
10 California San Francisco, CA 56,000 United

[edit] Accidents and incidents

[edit] See also

Portal icon United States Air Force portal
Portal icon Military of the United States portal
Portal icon World War II portal

[edit] References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

  1. ^ 2010 North American final rankings
  2. ^ a b c d e f g FAA Airport Master Record for BOI (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2008-04-10
  3. ^ a b http://www.cityofboise.org/Departments/Airport/PDF/Statistics/2010/Dec10Stats.pdf
  4. ^ a b "FAQs". Boise Airport. City of Boise. 2005. http://www.cityofboise.org/Departments/Airport/FAQ/page4226.aspx. Retrieved August 31, 2006. 
  5. ^ "Airlines". Boise Airport. City of Boise. 2005. http://www.cityofboise.org/Departments/Airport/AirlinesAndDestinations/page1561.aspx. Retrieved August 31, 2006. 
  6. ^ a b c "General Aviation". Boise Airport. City of Boise. 2005. http://www.cityofboise.org/Departments/Airport/GeneralAviation/page4224.aspx. Retrieved August 31, 2006. 
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Airport Administration". Boise Airport. City of Boise. 2005. http://www.cityofboise.org/Departments/Airport/AboutBoiseAirport/index.aspx. Retrieved August 31, 2006. 
  8. ^ a b "Gowen Field Air National Guard Base". GlobalSecurity.org. January 21, 2006. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/gowen.htm. Retrieved August 31, 2006. 
  9. ^ http://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/passenger/media/cy09_cs_enplanements.pdf
  10. ^ "Whence Came the Name . . . ?". Gowen Research Foundation Electronic Newsletter 1 (7). July 30 1998. http://bz.llano.net/gowen/electronic_newsletter/el199807.htm. Retrieved 2006-08-31. 
  11. ^ http://www.cshqa.com/project_detail.php?cid=4&did=10
  12. ^ "2004 Global Airport Satisfaction Index Study" (PDF). J.D. Power and Associates. December 6, 2004. http://www.jdpower.com/pdf/2004197.pdf#page=6. Retrieved August 31, 2006. 
  13. ^ http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/usaf/124wg.htm
  14. ^ http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1&Airport=BOI&Airport_Name=Boise,%20ID:%20Boise%20Air%20Terminal&carrier=FACTS
  15. ^ "N75142 Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19961209-0. Retrieved 25 June 2010. 
  16. ^ Steve Appleton, CEO of Micron, dies in airplane crash at Boise Airport, IdahoStatesman.com, February 3, 2012.
  17. ^ Micron CEO Steve Appleton's final flight lasted 80 seconds, IdahoStatesman.com, February 4, 2012.

[edit] External links

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