Waco is losing its jet service to Dallas, but not forever.

While work crews crowd Waco Regional Airport’s runway making $13.1 million in improvements, the jets will give way to turboprops that need less runway space to land.

“The change will take place on Aug. 25, and we anticipate the jets being back by October 2010,” said Joel Martinez, who manages Waco’s municipal airport.

The 50-passenger Embraer jets brought excitement to Waco in the fall of 2008, with business leaders saying the planes represented a step up from the 30-passenger Saab turboprops then flying to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Martinez said the jets have been very well-received.

“I wish we could accommodate them during the duration of construction, but we need to make a sacrifice for a short time,” he said. “In the long term, we’ll be better off, with an improved runway and improved taxiway.”

City Manager Larry Groth said he thinks the flying public will tolerate the turboprops.

“People understand progress,” he said. “We’re putting a lot of money into the airport to meet all rules and regulations to help us qualify for future grants and to make it safer for users.”

He added he does not expect fliers to start driving to airports in Dallas or Killeen to avoid the turboprops.

“They will still get you from point A to point B, safely and on time,” he said. “It’s still a great experience flying out of Waco, considering the ease of getting in and out. It doesn’t cost anything to park, and you don’t have to land in Dallas or Killeen knowing you’ve still got a drive to Waco.”

The turbopropos that will serve Waco during the runway construction will have a 66-passenger capacity, making them larger than the 30-passenger Saab turboprops, Martinez said.

He said Waco was getting seven Saab flights a day to D-FW before the jets arrived. It got four jet flights daily for a time, but that number went to five because of the popularity of the flights.

Martinez said he believes Eagle will go back to four flights daily with the bigger turboprops.

“It’s too bad we didn’t get this work done when we didn’t have jets,” said Jim Vaughan, president of the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce. “But if this is what we have to do, we have to do it.”

Flying turboprops instead of jets “is not that big of a deal,” said Ben Coulter, 22, who was waiting in Waco on Wednesday to board a jet to D-FW for a connecting flight to Chicago. “The difference in flying time is only a few minutes, and you can’t beat the convenience of flying out of Waco. The price also is reasonable.”

mcopeland@wacotrib.com

757-5736