Bedford Minuteman
Wednesday, March 24, 2004

Letter: Two airlines still interested

Only three of the 16 commissioners struggled through the snow to attend the
HFAC (Hanscom Field Advisory Commission) meeting on March 16. Three
representatives from Massport were also in attendance. Since the meeting did
not have a quorum, officially it did not take place. It seems important,
however, to report what those few who attended learned.

Two more airlines have been talking to Massport about starting operations at
Hanscom. Massport representatives declined to name them or their proposed
routes. They also distributed the Shuttle America (March 12) and
Boston-Maine (March 8) press releases.

Another interesting fact that was revealed was that the monthly number of
jet operations in February 2004 increased 21 percent as compared to a year
ago (2,698 versus 2,239). The number night operations was up even more
significantly -- 31 percent (164 versus 125 a year ago).

News releases from Shuttle America and Boston Maine were handed out. Shuttle
America will continue its Trenton, N.J. service until further notice. They
plan four departures and four arrivals in their 30-seat Saab 340 aircraft.
In February Shuttle America carried on the average nine to 10 passengers per
flight, a relatively low occupancy rate.

Boston Maine Airways will start service to the same destination, Trenton,
N.J., on March 29 with three departures and three arrivals per day, although
the proposed schedule shows four such flight and not three. Their news
release appears to have misprints. Their first departure is listed 6:20
a.m., which would be before the 7 a.m. curfew. Massport thought this was a
mistake. The release also said "the airline will expand on April 20 to seven
flights each weekday."

The two airlines (Shuttle America and Boston-Maine) will have separate
counters at the terminal. If they split the passengers evenly, each flight
will carry only approximately five passengers.

Massport's "Vegetation Management" project, i.e., tree removal and clearing,
is almost complete. Runway Safety Area expansion will begin this spring.
Some permitting may be necessary. The list of capital airport improvement
projects planned by Massport at Hanscom within the next year is quite
substantial. The investment planned next year to upgrade the airport can be
estimated at $12 million.

Liberty Mutual still plans to build a new hangar for its jets, but it has
not yet announced when they will present their plans to HFAC.

Julian Bussgang
Forest Street
Lexington

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