Boise Airport - History

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.

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 (2,682 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.

The field was named Gowen Field on July 23, 1941, after 1st Lt. Paul R. Gowen (1909–1938). Born and raised in Caldwell, he attended the University of Idaho and graduated ninth in his class at West Point in 1933. While piloting a twin-engine B-10 bomber in the Army Air Corps, Gowen was killed instantly in a crash in Panama in July 1938. 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.

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

Between 2003 and 2005, the Boise Airport was remodeled. The airport now features a new terminal and an elevated roadway for departures. There were two different phases that were done when completing the new passenger terminal. Phase 1 considered amenities such as baggage claim, lobby, and food and beverage concession. Phase 2 dealt with security checkpoints and a new concourse (Concourse C).

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.

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

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.