Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 20, 1990 TAG: 9006200506
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY BUSINESS EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The introductory fares, to be in effect Sept. 6-30, will be a fraction of the lowest costs to fly on competing ASA to Atlanta and USAir to California.
In the formal announcement of its three daily round-trip flights to Atlanta, Stan Brown, an Eastern vice president for sales, said his company will aggressively seek Roanoke business fliers, such as executives of Norfolk Southern, General Electric and BellSouth Communications.
The special $99 one-way fare will be good for flights from Roanoke to all Eastern destinations east of the Mississippi, as well as Kansas City, Dallas and Houston. About half of the capacity of the DC-9s will be saved for the introductory rates.
The $129 fare applies for one-way tickets to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix, Seattle and Portland.
Tickets for the introductory fares must be purchased by Aug. 15, Brown said.
After the introductory fare, Eastern's lowest price for the Roanoke-Atlanta flight will be $218 round-trip, with restrictions.
Eastern's economic impact on Roanoke probably will amount to $3 million to $5 million a year, from a work force of 20 people and the costs of doing business here, Brown said. Charles Spencer will be the company's station manager in Roanoke.
Eastern is already in business here, Brown said, collecting $500,000 in first-quarter sales from passengers who picked up Eastern planes after leaving here on other airlines.
Passengers flying on Eastern jets to Atlanta will be able to make connections on 312 flights to 36 cities.
Eastern is operating 800 daily flights in its system, about 75 percent of its peak before the recent strike by pilots and ground workers, which led the airline to declare bankruptcy to reorganize the company. The company dropped to about 25 flights at its lowest point in March a year ago.
ASA, a Delta commuter line flying seven round trips between Roanoke and Atlanta, usually does not match introductory fare cuts, according to Rob Gustafson, regional sales manager in Atlanta. He had not heard of Eastern's planned Roanoke service.
"It may hurt us for one month, but for the most part, we do not have discount fares," he said. ASA's Roanoke business is excellent, he said.
Gustafson predicted that Eastern's lower fares for one month will attract people who usually do not fly. "Eastern is another ballpark. . . . Their load factor is 65 percent, and they need 85 percent to break even," he added.
When the introductory fares are withdrawn, "the full fares are going to be the same for both airlines," Gustafson said.
ASA's lowest fares to Atlanta are $224 one-way and $208 round-trip, if purchased 14 days in advance. USAir's fares to the West Coast are $204 one-way and $408 round-trip.
USAir often matches a competitor's introductory fares, but that decision has not been made on the Roanoke service, according to Susan Young of USAir. Her company has this under review, she said.
"We welcome the competition. . . . Our on-time performance is better than any of our major competitors, and we feel very comfortable in Roanoke," Young said.
Eastern, led by court-appointed trustee Martin Shugrue, has "a large, deep hole to climb out of," said Brown, the airline's vice president. In a television commercial, Shugrue has promised that "in the next 100 days, Eastern will get a little better every day."
Also today, a USAir representative told the Regional Airport Commission that it will not reduce service to Roanoke as a result of Eastern's decision to start serving the airport.
Bobby Wampler told the commission that USAir welcomes the competition by Eastern. "We feel we are equipped to match or provide even better service than our competitors," Wampler said.
He told the commission that a change might be made soon in the non-stop early morning jet flights from Roanoke to New York/La Guardia because the passenger load has been smaller than anticipated. Fewer than 20 passengers have been using the flights, he said.
He said the company may drop the non-stop flight to La Guardia and replace it with a flight that makes stops in Richmond or another city along the way.
Wampler also told the commission that the early morning non-stop flight to Pittsburgh seems to be attracting more passengers, and the airline is more likely to retain it.
Wampler also told the commission that USAir is beginning a one-stop flight from Roanoke to Frankfurt, Germany, this summer. The flight stops in Charlotte, N.C., before flying to Germany.
Municipal writer Joel Turner contributed information to this story.
by CNB