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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Airlines change Spokane flight plans

Big Sky Airlines has changed plans and has canceled its launch of daily flights between Spokane and Calgary, the company said Thursday. The flights were set to start on Tuesday.

The regional carrier, based in Billings, Mont., planned two round-trip flights from Spokane to Calgary. One would have been nonstop; the second included a short stop in Kalispell, Mont.

Big Sky Airlines President Fred DeLeeuw said lack of ticket sales was a key factor in the decision.

“We heard from a lot of businesses there (in Spokane) that there was a great demand for the service,” said DeLeeuw. That demand didn’t translate into tickets sold, he added.

DeLeeuw said recently launched flights by Big Sky between Boise and Jackson Hole, Wyo., have sold far better than the Calgary service.

“We could always try again later,” he added. But DeLeeuw said doing business today in the aviation industry presents huge challenges. “Rising fuel costs are just part of that concern,” he said.

Delta Air Lines also announced a change in its Spokane to Salt Lake schedule. The airline announced it was filing for bankruptcy two weeks ago.

Starting Dec. 1, it switches from using larger aircraft operated by Delta on two daily flights to smaller regional jets operated by feeder line Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc.

The other three flights to and from Salt Lake are operated by Skywest Airlines and will not be affected, said Atlanta-based Delta.

The change means the two flights to and from Salt Lake, now using 130-seat Boeing 737 aircraft, will be replaced by 50-seat Bombardier CRJ jets operated by Atlantic Southeast.

The daily flight schedule of those five flights have not changed.