Bedford Minuteman
Wednesday, February 25, 2004

New airline will start service

By Barbara Forster / Correspondent

Commercial aviation is alive and well at Hanscom Field even though Shuttle
America plans to stop operations on April 30.

On the same day, Feb. 3, that Shuttle America announced it was ending
service at the air field, Boston-Maine Airways officials decided to pick up
the route to Trenton, N.J.

"We saw this as an opportunity," said Dan Fortnam, vice president, sales and
marketing. "A carrier is leaving the route but the market there is
successful. We plan to build on that."

Boston-Maine, a Pan-Am affiliate, intends to begin service March 25 with
three daily flights on 19-seat turbo-prop planes. Service to Martha's
Vineyard and Nantucket will be available late spring or early summer.

Cape service from Hanscom is the second go-round for Boston-Maine. Last
year's efforts failed; some flights never even landed because no passengers
existed.

"The timing was not right," said Fortnam.

The airline has Federal Aviation Administration approval for the Cape
service but is currently seeking a go-ahead from the agency for flights to
Trenton.

Shuttle America's reason for leaving Hanscom was to support service in the
Philadelphia market.

"We knew it would happen because Massport is in the business of making
money," said Anna Winter, executive director of Save Our Heritage. "But we
(the four towns, Minute Man National Historic Park, and preservationists)
agree unanimously that it's not appropriate to grow an airport in the middle
of a national park."

"I am extremely troubled and disappointed because commercial aviation does
not belong at the air field," added Sara Mattes of Lincoln, who chairs the
Hanscom Area Towns Committee.

Peter Enrich of Lexington said he is surprised that another airline plans to
venture into the same area, given that Shuttle America was not able to
maintain its low-level operations, even with the support of a major airline,
USAir.

"But if they (Boston-Maine) want to engage in a money-losing operation
that's their business," he said.

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

"There is clear evidence that Hanscom is not a viable commercial aviation
facility," she said. "I don't think that Boston-Maine will succeed."

"Maybe somebody should put up a sign out there (at Hanscom) with little
notches for each airline that tried and failed," added Enrich. "Maybe then
somewhere, someone will get the message."

Not everyone is disappointed, though.

"We're excited that Boston-Maine is stepping up to the plate to serve
customer demand," said Massport's Richard Walsh. "Shuttle America had a
loyal following so we are not surprised."

Commercial service at Hanscom has an on-again/off-again track record. 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 (Boston-Maine),
and USAir hoped to offer service from the field to Raleigh-Durham, the Cape
Islands, and to Philadelphia respectively.

Despite community conviction that this latest commercial venture will not
succeed, area activists expect to express strongly their concerns.

"We are not OK with this and we will put up a fight," said Lazarus. "We take
this very seriously."

"Any expansion, however large or small, opens a wedge for potentially
devastating expansion," added Winter, "and we will continue to oppose that."

Mattes is also concerned that the timing of the change directly conflicts
with local efforts to galvanize support for Hanscom Air Force Base and to
let the federal government know that the base has community support. Mattes
pointed out that those efforts are undermined because people outside the
region do not understand the distinction between the base and the airfield.

"We enthusiastically support the base, but what happens is that community
members express outrage at expansion at Hanscom airport and it's confusing
to the outside world," she said. "Massport has exploited that confusion to
make us look bad."

Walsh, however, denied the charge.

"Massport is aggressively participating in the commonwealth's efforts to
defend the base," he said.

Copyright by TownOnline.com and Herald Interactive Advertising Systems
==========
**NOTICE: In accordance with 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.**
==========