Lori Hunt.

• Position: Brief Article

With perfect timing for this article, Lori Hunt completes her 15th anniversary with SkyWest Airlines Inc., the nation's fourth-largest regional air carrier. Operating as Delta Connection and United Express, SkyWest provides approximately 1,000 daily departures to 64 cities in 13 western states and Canada.

Hunt initiated her career at the age of 20 in reservations in St. George (the company's corporate headquarters), assuming additional responsibility over the years in step with the company's growth. Today, residing in the Salt Lake office as regional director for northern stations, she supervises over 500 people responsible for everything that happens on the ground -- from the ticket counter, to the gate, to the ramp. Hunt sees airline business travel as an accurate barometer for the climate of business anywhere, but particularly in Utah.

"There is certainly more business going on with greater sophistication and professionalism in smaller communities. Thanks to the rise in commuter airlines, people can live in and do business in their hometown and still be in contact with large business centers anywhere in the world," she says. The regional jet is a huge factor in this equation, carrying 50 passengers as fast (530 mph) and high (41,000 feet). and with the same services, as jumbo commercial jets, but often with greater efficiency and comfort. "They're (regional jets) the wave of the future," says Hunt. "The core of our industry is the business...