Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 10, 1992 TAG: 9203100075
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWES BUSINESS WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
United Express already has plans to inaugurate a third daily departure to Richmond, effective March 25, and now the push is on to convince the Wisconsin-based airline to add a fourth flight.
"We weren't really expecting USAir to eliminate the Richmond service," Mark Courtney, the airport's marketing director, said Monday. "The upshot is . . . that it's not as bad as it looks."
Four of USAir's five departures to Richmond used 19-seat commuter planes. The runs are from Indianapolis to Columbus, Ohio, to Roanoke and on to Richmond.
The flights originally were designed to connect Richmond to the carrier's now-defunct hub at Dayton, Ohio. Moving that hub to Indianapolis last year made the Richmond-to-Roanoke run one segment too long to be economically feasible.
"I guess the feeling's either the [passenger counts] have not been acceptable or the problems were operational," said USAir's spokeswoman Susan Young. It appears to have been both: Recent passenger counts show that fewer than 33 percent of the seats on the four commuter flights to Richmond were filled each day.
"We've got to be in the 50 to 60 percent range, depending on the flight, to be profitable," she said.
For United Express, with hubs at Washington-Dulles and Chicago O'Hare, the dynamics may be different. The airline uses 100-seat jets to fly to Richmond now, departing at 1:55 p.m. and 8:05 p.m. The third planned departure at 6:45 a.m. will be a 37-seat Dash-8, a new commuter aircraft.
"There's great potential for United Express in this market," Courtney said. "We'll make a strong case for [expanded service]. And, of course, they're seeing a competitor drop out of the market."
Ted Moomaw, president of World Travel Inc. in Roanoke, agreed. "Obviously, if United Express is jumping in there to fill the gap, they certainly feel its a viable market."
United Express officials in Wisconsin were not available for comment.
In addition to stopping service to Richmond, USAir is planning to discontinue one flight to Charlottesville and two flights to Columbus, Ohio. But the Arlington-based airline will add two commuter departures to its Baltimore hub, likely providing Roanoke travelers with improved connections.
"It always looks bad whenever we lose air service," Moomaw said. "But upon closer examination in many, many cases, it may be a net improvement or we break even."
What's still unclear is whether USAir's exit from the Roanoke-to-Richmond run will drive up fares, prodding more travelers to make the three-hour drive instead.
A traveler flying to the capital on short notice - with no advance purchase or other special discounts - now pays $172 each way, according to Moomaw.
Fares generally increase once a two-competitor market loses one player.
With Richmond ranking 27th among destinations sought by Roanoke-based travelers, it is unclear who will be affected by the USAir decision - especially if United Express tailors its schedule to accommodate business travelers, who can make the round trip in a single work day.
Top Markets\ For Roanoke Valley air travelers\ \ 1. New York\ \ 2. Chicago\ \ 3. Charlotte\ \ 4. Atlanta\ \ 5. Dallas\ \ 10. Baltimore/Washington\ \ 27. Richmond\ \ 41. Columbus\ \ Source: Origination and Destination Survey, U.S. Dept. of Transportation.
by CNB