Tempe issued a press release. Well, tried to, anyway:
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US AIRWAYS AWARDED FIRST-EVER NONSTOP SERVICE
Airline receives DOT permission to link communities with year-round service
TEMPE, Ariz., June 12, 2006 - US Airways (NYSE: LCC) today was awarded authority by the Department of Transportation (DOT) to begin nonstop, year-round service between Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla. and Washington, D.C. The airline will operate one daily roundtrip flight. More information regarding the start of service and the flight schedule will issued at a later date.
"We applaud the DOT for approving our application to provide service between Sarasota-Bradenton and Washington D.C. and for recognizing the overwhelming support for this service put forth by community and civic leaders," said C.A. Howlett, senior vice president of public affairs for the airline. "This service is designed to increase competition and give customers more choices in air travel. Consumers who today drive to Ft. Myers or Tampa for flights to Washington, D.C. now have a much more convenient air travel option."
US Airways and America West's recent merger creates the fifth largest domestic airline employing nearly 35,000 aviation professionals. US Airways, US Airways Shuttle and US Airways Express operate approximately 3,800 flights per day and serve more than 230 communities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. US Airways is a member of Star Alliance, which provides connections for our customers to 842 destinations in 152 countries worldwide. This press release and additional information on US Airways can be found at www.usairways.com.
-Fly with US-
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Yep, read the title again. "US AIRWAYS AWARDED FIRST-EVER NONSTOP SERVICE". That tells you a whole lot. 🙄 The subtitle? Nope, still doesn't tell you where the service is to/from.
If you do go through the trouble of reading the whole press release, it tells you the service is Washington, D.C.-Sarasota. NOWHERE in the press release does it tell you which Washington airport the service is operating from. Maybe some people would be interested to know that the service is from DCA, the most convenient Washington-area airport, where US is the largest carrier, with nearly 200 flights a day to ~50 destinations. Maybe some people would just like to know which airport to show up to. :blink:
The folks in Tempe finally have gotten around to issuing press releases--only took them nine freaking months after the merger--but they still haven't figured out that while Phoenix and Las Vegas might only have one large airport each, Washington DC has three airports, including DCA, which only happens to be US's fourth largest station by seats and mainline flights. :down: