Concord Journal
Thursday, July 29, 2004

Letter: Airlines always start small

To the editor:

Hot on the heels of Liberty Mutual and its new hangar, another
business, tragically, does not hear the unanimous call by area officials,
town meetings, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation for a halt
to Hanscom expansion. Linear Air evidently has big plans to grow its charter
service -- what it calls "the future of aviation" -- at Hanscom Civilian
Airport.

The second busiest airport in New England, Hanscom is already out of
balance with its historically and environmentally sensitive surroundings.
The National Trust recognized this when it designated Minute Man National
Historical Park and environs as one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic
Places. It is gradual, incremental growth of the airport that has created
this danger. Any additional growth will only make a bad situation worse.

In the front page newspaper article, equivalent to free advertising,
Linear's spokesman says turboprop planes fit in at Hanscom. He never even
mentions the fact, plainly stated on Linear's Web site, that they will be
switching to jets next year. The history of commercial aviation at Hanscom
is rife with misleading statements of this kind -- airlines may start small,
but their ambition is to get as big as they can.

Furthermore, Linear's spokesman is careful not to use the word "luxury"
and tries to make the airline sound like a boon for ordinary travelers. Its
Web site, however, talks constantly about its luxury service and the
luxurious interiors of their aircraft. And its "reduced" charter price is
$750 an hour - still pretty steep for most of us.

Linear is simply providing one more high-end service for the small
population who can afford it, at the cost of increased degradation of places
like Minute Man Park and Walden Pond that belong to all Americans.

Susan Frommer
Nimrod Drive

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