Shuttle America-US Airways deal will add Hanscom flights

By Justin Pope, Associated Press, 10/9/2001 17:37

BOSTON (AP) Shuttle America will become a US Airways Express carrier and add
five round-trip flights out of Hanscom Field in Bedford, where activists
have tried to block airport expansion.

The airline, which had been operating flights between Hanscom and
Trenton/Mercer County, N.J., will fall under the US Airways umbrella and add
five roundtrips daily between Hanscom and the US Airways hub in
Philadelphia.

The agreement will allow Shuttle America passengers to make seamless
connections onto US Airways flights, buy tickets from US Airways agents and
earn frequent flyer miles with the airline. US Airways now has such
marketing arrangements with 10 carriers, including three it owns.

''I think if anything the events of Sept. 11 indicate that travelers are
looking for alternatives like Hanscom Field,'' said Mark Cestari, a
spokesman for Windsor Locks, Conn.-based Shuttle America. The company, which
has filed for bankruptcy, is in the process of being purchased by Greenwich,
Conn.-based Wexford Capital.

In June, US Airways said it would not add Hanscom service because of
community opposition to expanded flights. Activists are seeking to block the
airport's growth, claiming it would cause noise pollution and threaten
nearby historic sites.

''We believe that the people in that community in the Bedford area are going
to be given new choices for travel, alternative choices to Boston,'' said US
Airways spokesman David Castelveter. ''And we believe that brings great
value to the people in this community.''

Shuttle America is currently the only airline operating out of Hanscom, but
other carriers are interested.

The Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs Hanscom, has been pushing the
airport as an alternative to Boston's crowded Logan Airport, but has been
frustrated by the activists' opposition.

The site is near Minute Man National Park, site of some of the fighting on
the first day of the Revolutionary War.

Margaret Coppe, president of ShhAir, a group opposing expansion, said she
was disappointed with the news and worried it would give US Airways a
foothold for further expansion at Hanscom.

''The citizens who have been steadfastly opposing commercial passenger
operations out of Hanscom continue to do so,'' she said. ''We feel that this
is not the place for a commercial passenger airport.''

© Copyright 2001 Boston Globe Electronic Publishing Inc.
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