
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 16, 1990                   TAG: 9005160703
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

LOW BOARDINGS PUT PITTSBURGH AND N.Y. FLIGHTS IN JEOPARDY

USAir's early morning flights from Roanoke to Pittsburgh and New York's La Guardia Airport are not attracting as many passengers as the airline had hoped.

The Pittsburgh flight has been averaging only 29 passengers and the La Guardia flight only 20 passengers.

The Roanoke Regional Airport Commission was told today that the flights could be in jeopardy if they don't attract more passengers.

Jerry Caudill, USAir's station manager in Roanoke, said more passengers are needed on both flights to make them profitable.

"The name of the game is profitability and if we don't have the passengers, they may take the planes and put them on more profitable routes," Caudill said.

To continue the flights, Caudill said, the number of passengers to Pittsburgh needs to be doubled and the passengers on the La Guardia flight need to be tripled.

The non-stop flights were instituted in February to help upgrade service for the Roanoke Airport, particularly for businessmen needing to travel to Pittsburgh or New York.

The Pittsburgh flight leaves at 7 a.m. and the La Guardia flight departs at 7:15 a.m.

Caudill said the airline has instituted a $158 promotional round-trip fare to La Guardia to help attract more passengers. He said the flights will be retained for the immediate future, but the airline probably would eliminate them at some point if more people don't use them.

"I'm not sure why people are not using the flights. We have got the revenue base here to support them if people use them," he said.

Robert Herbert, commission chairman, said many businesses in outlying areas of Western Virginia depend on the flights for early morning trips to New York and other areas.

On another matter, Caudill told the commission that the problems created by the merger of USAir and Piedmont Airlines are "finally smoothing out" and the airline's performance has improved dramatically in the last two months.

Caudill said the airline's performance in completing flights on time in the past two months was the best ever in USAir and Piedmont's history.

At the Roanoke Airport, he said 98.6 percent of USAir flights arrived on time in April. He said that systemwide USAir completed more than 90 percent of its flights on time in March and April.

by CNB