Airline deal draws fire from Hanscom neighbors

By Kerry Drohan, Globe Staff, 10/14/2001

BEDFORD - Shuttle America's affiliation with US Airways last week flew into
a storm of criticism from opponents of commercial air service at Hanscom
Field.

''It is ludicrous and irresponsible to be expanding unwanted and unnecessary
airline operations when flying is at an all-time low,'' said Anna Winter,
executive director of the historic preservation group Save Our Heritage.
''We have yet to implement an effective security system nationwide, and we
are painfully aware of how out of balance our transportation system has
become.

''US Airways will now link Hanscom to an international hub,'' Winter said.
''This is just the kind of opportunistic situation that can lead to what we
have warned of all along - growing Hanscom into a busy commercial airport.
End result? The inevitable ruination of Minute Man National Park, Battle
Road, and Walden Woods.''

The new venture, which beginning Oct. 24 will offer five round-trip daily
flights to US Airway's hub in Philadelphia, was announced Tuesday. Shuttle
America said it had entered a ''code-sharing agreement'' with US Airways,
would add the Philadelphia flights, and would reduce its daily flights from
Hanscom to Trenton, N.J., from seven to six. That total is below the peak of
18 daily flights the airline was running last fall.

Mark Cestari, vice president of marketing for Shuttle America, called the
deal ''a whole new ballgame for us.''

''We have been struggling in terms of not really having enough critical mass
out of Hanscom to really be solidly profitable,'' he said. ''This
partnership increases the chances, since code-sharing can connect people to
200 other destinations.''

Code-sharing is like creating a franchise arrangement, Cestari said.

''This allows the major carrier to connect our customers to their flight
online, with one ticket getting the customer to London or Orlando or
wherever, with joint baggage handling, and handling at the hub,'' Cestari
said. ''In return, we seed them customers from places they would not
otherwise serve, and we pay them a fee.''

Cestari said the affiliation would have no effect on the ownership of
Shuttle America, which declared bankruptcy in April and is restructuring
with Wexford Capital LLC of Greenwich, Conn. Wexford plans to complete its
takeover in December.

Asked if Shuttle America planned to reinstitute service to New York's
LaGuardia Airport, Cestari noted that shuttle service there from all points
had decreased dramatically since Sept. 11. He said, though, his airline
would ''ultimately'' provide such a shuttle from Hanscom.

Cestari also revealed that Shuttle America had received about $300,000 from
the airlines bailout bill passed two weeks ago.

The Shuttle America/US Airways affiliation, along with airport safety, will
top the agenda of the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission meeting Tuesday at
7:30 p.m. at Bedford Town Hall, according to Bedford Selectman Sheldon Moll,
HFAC chairman. He said discussions of Hanscom Field's vegetation and
environmental management plans were ''off the table temporarily.''

''This new business arrangment raises some questions,'' Moll said. ''We want
to get a full explanation of the ramifications from Massport.''