Bedford Minuteman
Wednesday, March 31, 2004

New flights hit the runway
Boston-Maine flies to Trenton

By Barbara Forster / Correspondent

For local activists with a close eye on commercial flights at Hanscom Field,
the last two months have been a roller coaster. In that time, Hanscom has
gone from one commercial airline to none, and, as of Monday, two.

On Monday, Boston-Maine Airways launched service from Bedford to Trenton,
N.J., making for two commercial airlines flying out of the Bedford airfield.
For the next few weeks the airline will offer four flights a day; starting
mid-April the number increases to seven. The current one-way fare is $99.

Shuttle America, which announced it was pulling out of Hanscom and then
reversed, also has four weekday roundtrip departures.

In February, Shuttle America announced plans to leave Hanscom at the end of
April in order to support its efforts in the Philadelphia market. The
departure time was later postponed to the end of May. Boston-Maine
immediately stepped in to fill the gap.

But on March 8, Shuttle America reversed course, stating that "as a result
of an overwhelming consumer response," flights would continue until further
notice.

Boston-Maine, however, stood behind its decision. At that time, Dan Fortnam,
vice president of Sales & Marketing stated, "we're ready to go head to head
with Shuttle America."

Dave Fink, president, confirmed the company's position at Monday's press
conference at the airfield.

"We see an opportunity here," he said. "We're not doing this to go bankrupt.
There are a lot of casualties in this business and we don't want to be one
of them."

Fink noted that the company owns its fleet of planes.

"Everybody else leases," he said. "We can get by with a 20 to 23 percent
load factor."

Shuttle America, which uses 30-passenger Saab 340 aircraft is affiliated
with US Airways Express. Boston-Maine, with Pan Am Clipper Connection, uses
19-seater British Aerospace Jetstream 31.

Boston-Main plans to add other routes to Cape Cod and the islands are moving
slowly.

"We're still thinking about what to do," said Fink. "We will take our time."

The airline offered Cape service from Hanscom last year but the effort
flopped. Some flights never landed because no passengers were waiting or
arriving. According to Fortnam, the timing was "not right."

In 2002, Shuttle America also proposed flights to the Cape Cod. In its
heyday, the airline 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.

"I don't know what Massport hopes to accomplish by encouraging two airlines
to compete for a limited number of passengers to a single destination," said
Marty Pepper Aisenberg of Save Our Heritage, a grassroots activist group
based in Concord. "Boston-Maine's past record of failure at Hanscom suggests
that it is not a serious threat. If Massport tries to bring in another
airline, or to open up more routes, we will certainly be there to protest."

Comments aside, area activists were absent from Monday's opening. However,
Maureen Rogers, president of the North Suburban Chamber of Commerce and
Massport representatives were on hand to welcome Boston-Maine staff who flew
in from Trenton.

Boston Maine Airways dates to the 1930s. Boston Maine and Maine Central
Railroads jointly owned and operated the original service, which provided
international mail and passenger service throughout the Northeastern United
States. Amelia Earhart was a vice president of the original Boston Maine
Airways which also operated under contract with Pan Am.

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