Bedford Minuteman
Wednesday, February 4, 2004

Death knell for Shuttle America flights

By Barbara Forster / CNC Correspondent

"We're delighted."

That was the reaction from Sara Mattes, chairwoman of the Hanscom Area Towns
Committee, after learning that Shuttle America will no longer offer service
at the field.

On Tuesday, Feb. 3, Shuttle America announced it was ending service at the
airfield on April 30 in order to concentrate on other markets. CEO Scott
Durgin stated that the airline is leaving in order to support its efforts in
the Philadelphia market.

"Clearly indeed this is a victory and our efforts have finally paid off,"
said Anna Winter, executive director for Save Our Heritage.

Peter Enrich, chairman of the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission was also
pleased.

"This hardly comes as a dramatic shock, but it is a welcome milestone," he
said.

Mattes added "we believe that commercial aviation is an inappropriate use
for Hanscom and that it will be a return of its true use as a true general
aviation airfield."

Sarah Lazarus, spokeswoman for Safeguarding the Historic Hanscom Area's
Irreplaceable Resources, agreed.

"For a long time we've said that commercial aviation does not belong in the
middle of a national park," she said. "We've fought for this for a long
time."

"Shuttle America has discovered what many of us have said: Hanscom is not an
appropriate place for commercial aviation," said Rep. Jay Kaufman,
D-Lexington. "But the marketplace is also telling us that Hanscom is not an
appropriate place for commercial aviation so I don't understand Massport's
continued encouragement."

Durgin, however, stated the single-destination route was profitable.

"We'd be doing five round trips a day," he said. "That's only one less than
a year-and-a-half ago."

Massport representative Richard Walsh said the decision to pull the plug was
not shocking.

"It was a business decision and unfortunate but not unusual in aviation," he
said.

Walsh pointed out that airline service is based on travel needs and the
economy.

"Commercial service at Hanscom comes and goes and we expect another cycle at
some point. Bedford has proven to be a market."

In the 1990s, Mohawk Airlines operated at the field. Over the years, various
airlines including Continental Express and Business Air also wanted to use
the field. In 2001, three companies, Midway Airlines, Pan Am, and USAir
hoped to offer service from the field to Raleigh-Durham, the Cape Islands,
and to Philadelphia respectively.

According to Winter, a massive grassroots effort waged then against further
commercial expansion at the field succeeded in preventing a the creation of
a critical mass of commercial activity at the field.

"Once you have a critical mass, the opportunity for success increases," she
said. "We were in jeopardy then and we held back the tide."

"Shuttle America is one more addition to a long track record of failed
attempts to bring commercial aviation to Hanscom and we contributed to that
failure," said Enrich. "But I'm not sure if one of these commercial ventures
wouldn't have succeeded if we hadn't intervened."

In its heyday at Hanscom, Shuttle America provided service to Albany and
Buffalo, New York; Hartford, Connecticut; Trenton, New Jersey;
Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem, and for a very limited time to
LaGuardia. In recent months, the airline had only flights to Trenton.

"I'm not terribly surprised at this, especially when you look at all the
factors: community opposition and perhaps more desirable alternatives in
location and number of flights at T.F. Green or Logan," said Mattes.

"It's clear that Hanscom never will be successful [in the commercial
market]," added Winter.

Shuttle America began operations at Hanscom in September 1999. However, the
relationship with the communities was always contentious and involved
several unsuccessful court battles. The first legal fight was launched
before the planes left the ground.

Winter acknowledged the legal failures but maintained that the communities
were ultimately successful.

"It was essential that when Massport had all the momentum we broke the back
of that momentum, and we did," she said.

"It was absolutely worth the effort," added Lazarus.

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