Boston Herald
Thursday, April 26, 2001

2 airlines targeting Hanscom
by Greg Gatlin

Two airlines looking to fly out of Hanscom Field in Bedford will unveil
their plans to area selectmen tonight - plans sources say include a total of
11 more round-trip flights a day at the suburban airport.

Pan American Airways Corp. affiliate Boston-Maine Airways and Midway
Airlines Corp. aim to add a total of 11 round-trip flights at Hanscom - more
than twice as many as bankrupt airline Shuttle America slashed earlier this
month.

Dan Fortnam, the vice president of marketing for Portsmouth, N.H.-based
Boston-Maine Airways, confirmed that the airline is looking to fly eight
daily round-trip flights between Bedford and Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and
Nantucket during the peak summer season. The airline would rely on its
Jetstream 31 19-seater turbo-prop planes. He said the number might be pared
down in the off-season, although he didn't rule out flying to other
destinations.

``I think there's others out there that might make sense, but there's
nothing on the plate,'' Fortnam said.

Meanwhile, sources said Midway Airlines, of Morrisville, N.C., is looking to
fly three round trips daily between Bedford and Raleigh-Durham, home of the
many technology companies in Research Triangle Park. Midway would fly
50-seat Canadair Regional Jets in the morning, midday and afternoon, sources
said.

``They feel there's an untapped market connecting the two high-tech areas,''
a source said.

Both airlines are expected to make their plans known to selectmen in towns
surrounding Hanscom, including Lexington, Concord and Lincoln, at a meeting
tonight. They're also expected to be greeted by large numbers of protesters
opposed to commercial airline expansion at the suburban airport. Activist
groups have fought Shuttle America Inc.'s expansion at Hanscom tooth and
nail, with pickets, lobbies and lawsuits. They're expected to do the same
with Boston-Maine and Midway.

Jose Juves, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates
Hanscom, would say only ``The two airlines have expressed interest. This is
a positive step in our effort to regionalize air traffic.''

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