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Airports retain Colgan
By Kay Stephens, kstephens@altoonamirror.com
POSTED: June 11, 2008
Community support and increasing passenger numbers were factors in the federal government’s decision to retain the Altoona-Blair County Airport’s carrier offering daily flights to Washington-Dulles Airport.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that it will provide annual subsidy of $2.78 million to Colgan Air for passenger service from the Altoona airport in Martinsburg and the John P. Murtha Johnstown Cambria County Airport from Sunday to June 30, 2010.
The subsidy is $424,000 more than Colgan now receives.
“It’s tremendous news for the airport,” Manager Charles Pillar said.
Retaining Colgan means the airport can continue building on changes that are paying off by attracting more passengers, he said.
Ridership has increased since February, when Colgan began using a larger aircraft — a United Express carrier — and offering a flight schedule that helped passengers make connections at Washington-Dulles.
The number of passengers flying from Altoona went from 562 in February to 821 in March, 838 in April and 1,113 in May when Johnstown’s airport diverted passengers because of a runway improvement project.
The transportation department could have chosen Gulfstream International to serve the Blair and Cambria airports at $152,138 less than Colgan will be paid. It offered to serve the airports with three flights daily and on weekends to Cleveland, using a smaller aircraft.
Michael W. Reynolds, acting assistant secretary for aviation and internal affairs, recognized the less expensive alternative in the order he signed on behalf of the department.
“Because of strong community support and evidence that traffic is on an upswing ... we will reselect Colgan,” Reynolds said.
U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-9th District, applauded the choice.
In March, when Colgan filed a notice to terminate subsidized flight service to Altoona and Johnstown because of rising jet fuel costs, Shuster explained that action as the only option Colgan had to seek a higher subsidy.
“Thankfully, Colgan Air’s track record of prompt and quality service led [the department] to reselect them for this important connection service,” Shuster said.
Several letters were filed with the government requesting the retention of Colgan.
Pillar and Scott Volker, manager of the Johnstown airport, filed a letter on behalf of their airport authorities.
Other letters came from state Sen. John H. Eichelberger Jr., R-Blair; authority authority member and Altoona-Blair County Development Corporation President Marty Marasco; Amtran General Manager Eric Wolf; and others.
“If you get planes in here that go to Cleveland, you might as well close up the airport,” Morrisons Cove resident Carol Snyder wrote in a letter she filed with the department.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that it will provide annual subsidy of $2.78 million to Colgan Air for passenger service from the Altoona airport in Martinsburg and the John P. Murtha Johnstown Cambria County Airport from Sunday to June 30, 2010.
The subsidy is $424,000 more than Colgan now receives.
“It’s tremendous news for the airport,” Manager Charles Pillar said.
Retaining Colgan means the airport can continue building on changes that are paying off by attracting more passengers, he said.
Ridership has increased since February, when Colgan began using a larger aircraft — a United Express carrier — and offering a flight schedule that helped passengers make connections at Washington-Dulles.
The number of passengers flying from Altoona went from 562 in February to 821 in March, 838 in April and 1,113 in May when Johnstown’s airport diverted passengers because of a runway improvement project.
The transportation department could have chosen Gulfstream International to serve the Blair and Cambria airports at $152,138 less than Colgan will be paid. It offered to serve the airports with three flights daily and on weekends to Cleveland, using a smaller aircraft.
Michael W. Reynolds, acting assistant secretary for aviation and internal affairs, recognized the less expensive alternative in the order he signed on behalf of the department.
“Because of strong community support and evidence that traffic is on an upswing ... we will reselect Colgan,” Reynolds said.
U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-9th District, applauded the choice.
In March, when Colgan filed a notice to terminate subsidized flight service to Altoona and Johnstown because of rising jet fuel costs, Shuster explained that action as the only option Colgan had to seek a higher subsidy.
“Thankfully, Colgan Air’s track record of prompt and quality service led [the department] to reselect them for this important connection service,” Shuster said.
Several letters were filed with the government requesting the retention of Colgan.
Pillar and Scott Volker, manager of the Johnstown airport, filed a letter on behalf of their airport authorities.
Other letters came from state Sen. John H. Eichelberger Jr., R-Blair; authority authority member and Altoona-Blair County Development Corporation President Marty Marasco; Amtran General Manager Eric Wolf; and others.
“If you get planes in here that go to Cleveland, you might as well close up the airport,” Morrisons Cove resident Carol Snyder wrote in a letter she filed with the department.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.
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