Unalaska, AK – Peninsula Airways has settled on the aircraft it will use to fly to Unalaska once it phases out the current fleet, a decision that will have an impact on the future design of the Unalaska Airport.

According to a letter that PenAir President Danny Seybert sent to the Alaska Department of Transportation last month, the company plans to replace its current aircraft, the Saab 340b, with the Bombardier Q400 by 2016. The Q400s offer twice the seating capacity of the current Saabs, almost two and a half times more cargo capacity, and a faster cruising speed, which would mean a shorter flight between Anchorage and Unalaska.

Mark Mayo, ADOT's project manager for the proposed expansion of Unalaska's airport, said that some other characteristics of the Q400 are plusses for airport planners.

"It has landing and approach characteristics that make it well-suited for a restricted airfield like the one here, so that'll work well for us," he said.

Seybert was traveling this week and unavailable for comment. In his letter to ADOT, he says the company had looked into using the Saab 2000, a larger plane made by the Swedish manufacturer, but that it didn't meet PenAir's needs for a variety of reasons. Because that plane isn't used anywhere else in the United States, PenAir also would have had to undertake the costly process of getting the aircraft certified with the Federal Aviation Administration.

Seybert says in his letter that the availability of used Q400s, which have been manufactured since 1999, is a strong selling point for the aircraft, which he expects to be able to purchase for $8 million apiece by 2015.

PenAir's decision firms up one of the major variables in ADOT's 25-year plan for Unalaska's airport, which is in its early stages. The introduction of the Q400 will mean that the runway will need to be widened substantially, and lengthened somewhat as well. But Mayo said the space demands made by the plane aren't unreasonable.

Mayo and consultants working on the airport plan were in Unalaska Wednesday to update the community on the status of the project. They'll be back next month to present specific design alternatives.