The Lowell Sun, 5/2/01

US Airways becomes third new player
to target Hanscom landing

By Frank Tutalo, Sun Statehouse Bureau

BEDFORD -- One week after two airlines unveiled plans to use Hanscom Air
Field, another company is eyeing its runways with increased interest.

US Airways Express, a subsidiary of US Airways Inc., is looking to fly three
flights a day from the local airport to Philadelphia, Massachusetts Port
Authority spokesman Jose Juves said yesterday. The company already uses
Worcester Airport.

"This is really due to the success that Shuttle America has had at Hanscom,"
Juves siad. It's a lucrative market. That area generates a lot of air
travel out of Logan and passengers are discovering Hanscom is a closer
alternative."

US Airways' planes would seat a maximum of 50 passengers, Juves added.

"We are looking at service at Hanscom and we're in discussions with Massport
over feasibility of it," said Rick Weintraub, a US Air spokesman.

Midway and PanAm presented proposals last week to local selectmen to use
Hanscom.

Meanwhile, one local citzens' group is already vowing to oppose US Air's
proposal.

"You would think that with the downturn in the economy right now they would
expand where they're welcome," siad Anna Winter, executive director of Save
Our Heritage.

Winter contends Hanscom was never meant to be commercialized and is
vehemently against opening it up to more airlines. Save Our Heritage says
more than 1,000 historically significant sites exist within a few miles of
Hanscom that need to be preserved.

The publicly traded US Airways has hubs in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It
flies to 203 destinations worldwide.

US Airways, which is based in Arlington, Va., is an air carrier engaged
primarily in the business of transporting passengers, property and mail,
according to the company's Web site.

Juves, who termed the action as "preliminary interest," said the company
contacted Massport Friday. The next step is for the company to submit
formal proposals at the local level.

Ranked by revenue and passenger miles, US Air is the sixth-largest carrier
in the country.

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