STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Bleary-eyed passengers headed for Denver got the first glimpse of something new on the tarmac at Friedman Memorial Airport Saturday morning.

The sun rising over the foothills to the east glinted off two new United E175 planes, portending a new chapter in the history of Sun Valley aviation.

The first United flight had arrived from San Francisco at 7:15 p.m. Friday evening and the other came from Denver at 8:55 p.m., parking alongside a Delta CRJ700.

And Delta’s new summer flight from Seattle was expected to arrive around noon on Saturday.

The Embraer E175 flights are the new generation of regional jet. The 76-seat planes feature 12 first-class seats, 16 economy-plus seats and 48 economy seats, as well as onboard Wi-Fi.

The planes are about the same size as the Bombardier CRJ700 regional jets currently operating at the airport. But they provide an enhanced passenger experience with more headroom, larger windows, wider seats and aisles and larger overhead bins.

The planes also have better braking systems, which means that pilots don’t have to use reverse thrusters to slow the plane down when they land. That should make them quieter, said Friedman Memorial Airport Manager Chris Pomeroy, who added that 99 percent of jets use the thruster boosters when landing.

“They’re a lot quieter, for sure. I didn’t even realize they had landed last night,” said James Hoover, who works in airport operations.

Pilots and flight attendant seemed jazzed about the new planes as they reported for work.

One pilot gave a thumbs up as he walked up the ramp to the plane.

“State of the art!” he said.

And flight attendants Adriana Flores and Maurisha Brown were only too happy to point out the bigger overhead bins and other assets.

“And they have such a smooth landing,” reported Flores.

Carol Waller, executive director of Fly Sun Valley Alliance, showed up at 6:15 in the morning to check out the new flights.

“We’re so very excited to have the next generation aircraft,” she said.

Pomeroy said airlines are adding E175 aircraft to their fleets throughout the country due to its improved performance capabilities and enhanced level of passenger comfort.

“They look so different sitting there,” noted Pomeroy, reminiscing how airport had evolved from Brasilla aircraft to the Bombardier CRJ700 to the new Embraers. “It’s very exciting for the airport, definitely an asset. It’s going to be a really nice upgrade, a really nice improvement for passengers.”

The planes couldn’t have arrived at a better time, he added: “This looks to be shaping up to be our biggest summer ever.”