State agencies discovering value of flying within the family
It may be one of the least recognized, but most cost effective, air services flying out of the Boise Airport.
Its back-room hangar houses a twin-engine turbo prop plane that seats 10. Smaller siblings — a pair of Cessnas — carry three and five passengers, respectively. The planes share runways with private air services and commercial flights to national hubs and international destinations.
ITD and its Division of Aeronautics provide air services to the far reaches of Idaho for its own employees, other state agencies and the governor. No pre-flight screening. No extra charges for checked or carry-on luggage. No bill for in-flight water or peanuts.
State fliers who need direct access to commercial and community airports throughout the state find ITD’s air services a valuable time- and budget-saver. State employees are discovering the benefits of using ITD's service.
Add to the list of satisfied customers Sgt. Paul Young of the Idaho Department of Correction’s St. Anthony Work Camp. He recently passed along his lofty praise and appreciation to Mike Pape, newly appointed administrator of the Aeronautics Division.
Good afternoon Mr. Pape!
I just wanted to take a few moments and personally thank you and your staff for the kind, courteous, attentive, and professional service that you all provided both upon the day of our flight and the weeks leading up to it.
Tammy (Schoen) and Laura (Adams) were both very polite, helpful and responsive to the many requests that I made of them by phone and e-mail as I coordinated and scheduled the flight for my co-workers and I in the weeks and days leading up to the flight.
Both legs of our flight with you and Dan (Etter) as our pilots could not have gone better; it hardly seemed that we had finished taking off from one airport before we were preparing to land at our destination airport. You handled the plane superbly; the ride was as smooth as silk the whole time! The aircraft itself was a pleasant surprise as well, being much more comfortable and roomy than many of us expected. The in-flight refreshments were the icing on cake. They were a nice touch at the end of a long day of training.
You and your staff have made believers out of the eight of us that flew with you last week. Every one of my co-workers, including a few that were skeptical about the flight arrangement have asked me to continue to plan and coordinate flights with you for as long as our management authorities will approve the flights.
Please pass our regards on to your staff and have a wonderful day!
Paul Young
Sergeant
St. Anthony Work Camp
Published 10-19-2012