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

DATE: FRIDAY, September 24, 1993                   TAG: 9309240063
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ROANOKE- PITTSBURGH TO GET JETS

The two flights will be aboard 110-passenger Boeing 737 aircraft. The service begins Nov. 10 and will operate seven days a week. It will displace one daily departure by USAir Express carrier Chautauqua Airlines, which will continue six daily flights with 30-passenger commuter planes.

The flights give the Roanoke airport a real boost, not only in terms of departures, but also in the number of available seats on the route, said Mark Courtney, director of market development for the airport. `We're real excited about it," he said.

The airline added the jet routes at the request of its customers and in response to growth in the market, said Andrea Barnes, a USAir spokeswoman.

In June, there were 7,659 passengers on trips between Roanoke and Pittsburgh. Most of those travelers connected with planes for other destinations from USAir's Pittsburgh hub. The demand for Roanoke-Pittsburgh flights was greater than the supply of seats, Courtney said.

The airline's announcement means USAir will provide jet service from Roanoke to all three of its regional hubs for connecting flights in Pittsburgh; Charlotte, N.C.; and Baltimore. That should provide convenient connections for passengers no matter where they want to go, Courtney said.

The same-day business fare on the new Roanoke-Pittsburgh flights will be $272 one way; the nonrefundable, round-trip excursion fare with a 14-day advance purchase is $168.

In November, there were 45 daily departures from the Roanoke airport. The new service will bring that number to 60 in November.

USAir and USAir Express, which account for three-fifths of the passenger traffic in Roanoke, will have increased their departures from 19 to 26 in a period of four months.

Earlier this month, USAir began a daily nonstop flight between Roanoke and New York's LaGuardia Airport. Other cities the airline serves from Roanoke with daily nonstop flights are Charlotte; Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; Lynchburg; Richmond; and Lewisburg, W.Va.

\ USAir\ Pittsburgh flight schedule\ Effective Nov. 7\ \ Roanoke-Pittsburgh\ Departure Arrival\ 8:00 a.m. 8:53 a.m.\ 6:20 p.m. 7:13 p.m.\ \ Pittsburgh-Roanoke\ Departure Arrival\ 4:35 p.m. 5:29 p.m.\ 9:05 p.m. 9:59 p.m.\