Bedford Minuteman
Thursday, August 1, 2002

Why is airline still here?

To the editor:

Thanks to the united, continuous efforts of the citizens of the four towns, the threat posed by Shuttle America’s arrival three years ago — potentially blowing Hanscom wide open for unlimited commercial aviation — has not materialized. It is important for our communities to take pride in our efforts and savor our victories.

We have picketed, rallied, spoken up at public meetings, sent letters to the newspapers, taken the FAA to court, and supported our elected officials in keeping the pressure on Massport. As a result, Midway Airlines and US Airways both withdrew their plans to operate at Hanscom, citing community opposition as their reason. Shuttle America was driven into bankruptcy and narrowly escaped liquidation. Its heavily hyped service to LaGuardia failed miserably before the bankruptcy, and when it was tried again after the bankruptcy it folded even faster. The flights to Westchester were cancelled two days after they started, and the flights to the islands didn’t last much longer.

And now Shuttle America is reducing service to its last two remaining destinations. The airline’s own monthly reports to Massport and to the Trenton airport authority show that it is losing money at both Hanscom and Trenton. Massport spokesman Richard Walsh’s recent claim that the Bedford-Trenton run is " very profitable " is simply not true.

So why is Shuttle America still here? And why is Massport still its cheerleader? Could it be that Massport is subsidizing Shuttle America or providing some other incentive for it to stay here? We can think of no other reasonable explanation for Shuttle America’s behavior, which is contrary to what you would expect from a rationally operated business that wants to make a profit.

There is no public clamor for commercial aviation at Hanscom. Massport’s attempt to artificially create and sustain commercial expansion here, in the middle of Minute Man National Historical Park, Walden Pond and Walden Woods, and so many other internationally important sites — not to meet a true public need, but to serve its own short-sighted interests — is unconscionable and unacceptable.

Neil Rasmussen, President
Save Our Heritage

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