Express Pulls Out Hagerstown

[FM2436]

Just read in our Sunday paper that Air Midwest has decided to discontinue its US Airways Express HGR-PIT flights on March 6. US Airways spokesperson Amy Kudaw said the airline has no plans to replace the service once it stops on March 6.

The economic realities of today's airline industry can not provide airline service into ever small community. I would bet before June 30, 2005, US Airways Express flights will end at several more small communities.

 

[nycbusdriver]

Just read in our Sunday paper that Air Midwest has decided to discontinue its US Airways Express HGR-PIT flights on March 6.  US Airways spokesperson Amy Kudaw said the airline has no plans to replace the service once it stops on March 6. 

The economic realities of today's airline industry can not provide airline service into ever small community.  I would bet before June 30, 2005, US Airways Express flights will end at several more small communities.

[post="239578"][/post]​

USAirways is beginning to emulate the LCC like SWA and JetBlue. Those carriers will NEVER give Hagerstown service even if all the legacy carriers go belly-up. There's no money to be made giving Hagerstown air service because the folks in those small communities refuse to pay the real costs of the minimal air service they require. The legacy carriers have used a loss-leader type scheme for decades, allowing long haul routes to subsidize the small communities (to get their long haul feed.) It can no longer be sustained because the darlings of the industry make their profits by skimming the "cream" off the top, and that's what customers "think" they want. The citizenry of all those Hagerstown-type cities will be squealing loudly in short order, but once the infrastructure they disdain is disassembled, it will not be rebuilt anytime soon. (Unless, of course, the government steps in to subsidize, and re-regulation rears its ugly head.)

The United States has to face facts: Unless individual passengers are willing to pay the price for their particular need, universal air service in this country is going the way of the steam locomotive. And sooner rather than later.

 

[AtlanticBeach]

The prior post reflects the trend that is occurring. HGR is less than a two hour drive from BWI, IAD and DCA.

During FY 03, there were a total of 15,709 enplanements; an average of 43 per day. It would be surprising if any other carrier replaced this service.

 

[700UW]

It is the Wal-Marting of America.

 

[Bear96]

The good burghers of HGR won't even notice. I would bet many, if not most, didn't even realize there was scheduled air service into HGR.

Instead, they'll continue to do what they have been doing and make the quick 1-1/2 hour drive down I-70 to BWI to take advantage of many more travel options, as they have been doing for years. The consumers have spoken, and they don't care about air service straight to HGR. They prefer one of the myriad other convenient air travel options available to them that don't entail a mandatory change of aircraft in PIT to get to anywhere else. No biggie.

 

[DHC8Driver]

The citizenry of all those Hagerstown-type cities will be squealing loudly in short order, but once the infrastructure they disdain is disassembled, it will not be rebuilt anytime soon. (Unless, of course, the government steps in to subsidize, and re-regulation rears its ugly head.)

The United States has to face facts: Unless individual passengers are willing to pay the price for their particular need, universal air service in this country is going the way of the steam locomotive. And sooner rather than later.

[post="239582"][/post]​

I think you may be right in the short term, but this situation can play out one of a few ways. There is no doubt that people are willing to drive an hour or two to get a dirt cheap fare. That is how SWA makes its money.

So down go the "full service airlines" and there will be a lot of people driving before they get on an airplane and pay their cheap fare.

Another scenario is the number of cities that fall under "essential air service" acts rises significantly and the government ends up adding a significant tax to tickets or jet fuel or both to pay for these smaller cities to have a limited air service. The LCC become a little less low cost in higher taxes.

Another scenario is the aviation landscape starts to resemble the way it was in the late 70's and 80's where you have independant regional airlines, in essence, flight sharing with all other airlines. These regional airlines served the small communties. This is how PBA, Bar Harbor, and even Pan Am survived. It wasn't like the codesharing of today however. In the day, if you wanted to fly ORD to Bangor, Me. A travel agent could put it together for you in one package and you flew United form ORD to BOS, and then BOS to BGR on Bar Harbor. You also paid whatever fare BHB Airines charged on their route and the full trip ticket prices were higher in real dollars than any code share arrangement we have today. If you couldn't afford the price, you simply drove from BOS.
The bottom line is you will either drive or pay the price in the future for air travel.

 

[28yrsnojob]

A lot of places where enplanements are not large are in trouble of closing

 

[autofixer]

It can be an economic detriment for a community to lose air service. You may save a couple of bucks driving to BWI (I sometimes wonder though...Time + Gas + Parking = ?); however, your company may leave your area due to the lack of air service and where does that leave you in the long run?

On the other hand, I see an opportunity for another Piedmont to arise(Remember being called "velcro" airlines, becouse Piedmont would stop and pick up anyone?). Perhaps, hub a city like PIT and serve all of these small cities, soon to be dropped by the legacies. Interline customers bags and send them on their oblivious way on the LCCs.

 

[jimcfs]

The bottom line is you will either drive or pay the price in the future for air travel.

This is the way I've been here in southern WV since I moved here in '91. I live about 15 min from BLF and 40 min from BKW, both airports serviced currently by US Express (Colgan B1900's). Both airports are ESA markets.

Since about '94, I've flown out of my local airports 2 or 3 times, mostly on award tickets. I choose to fly out of CRW, ROA, GSO, TRI, CLT or even RDU. Why? Better service and better fares. Why pay $350 or $400 for a RT with a couple of flight choices a day when I can go to one of the other airports I listed above and get a fare for maybe 1/3 the price and get better connections and jet service (even if it's RJ).

Since the PIT pullout in November, service here is even worse. Instead of moving the 3 PIT flights to another hub (CLT or god-forbid, PHL), Colgan made these flights go 2X IAD and 1X CMH, still under the US EX flag. How is someone going to connect into the US system conveniently at these places? Supposedly there is some O/D, but I don't see it. With CMH one can connect to the brown terds, but you are going to you are going to pay to get that opportunity. At IAD you have UA codeshares and flyi, but again, the fare alone is not worth that opp. So, for me and a lot of local folks I know, it's so much easier (and less aggrevating) to drive somewhere else and fly on a barbie jet.

Not to be totally negative, one positive to BLF/BKW is free parking... and you can park less than 100 feet from the front door. BKW has the look and feel of a "real" airport with a nice terminal and even a nice restaurant that a lot of locals go eat. BLF is barely a bus station with a runway. Some who have visited me think it looks a lot like the airport on Wings (without Crystal Bernard's restaurant of course... they have a line of vending machines instead ).

 

[Bear96]

You may save a couple of bucks driving to BWI (I sometimes wonder though...Time + Gas + Parking = ?)

[post="239608"][/post]​

I would imagine average fares are quite a bit lower from BWI than from HGR, which would more than make up for the gas and parking expenses.

And as to time ... does it really matter if you spend 90 minutes driving to BWI to catch your non-stop flight to your final destination, or if that 90 minutes is spent changing planes in PIT to get to your final destination? Should be about a wash either way.

 

[mweiss]

Unless, of course, the government steps in to subsidize, and re-regulation rears its ugly head.

Hmmm...I thought that was called EAS. Has it been canceled?

The United States has to face facts: Unless individual passengers are willing to pay the price for their particular need, universal air service in this country is going the way of the steam locomotive. And sooner rather than later.

[post="239582"][/post]​

And good riddance. I have yet to hear a compelling argument for keeping it.

 

[mweiss]

It can be an economic detriment for a community to lose air service. You may save a couple of bucks driving to BWI (I sometimes wonder though...Time + Gas + Parking = ?); however, your company may leave your area due to the lack of air service and where does that leave you in the long run?

[post="239608"][/post]​

Like any changes in a market, it'll hurt some, and help others. But claiming that it's bad for the whole nation still sounds like a lot of "sky is falling." Nobody's given any argument that the loss of air service to these communities hurts the nation, just that there are some people who will be hurt (without mentioning those who will be helped).

 

[mweiss]

I would imagine average fares are quite a bit lower from BWI than from HGR, which would more than make up for the gas and parking expenses.

[post="239630"][/post]​

Depends on the length of the trip.

 

[airbiiguy]

HGR was a dump anyways....

 

[MidwayMetrolink]

HGR, the start of the Allegheny Commuter System! It's a shame. Great employees. A few have been there since the days of Henson. Just a few years back there were six SAAB flights a day and every one of them was full.