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Bridgeport, NCWV Airport and Clarksburg to be Part of Discovery Science Channel Show on Allegiant

By Jeff Toquinto on February 13, 2018 via Connect-Bridgeport.com

The North Central West Virginia Airport is no stranger to big names occasionally dropping in either expected or unexpectedly in the case of former President Bill Clinton or country music star Miranda Lambert and a whole host of others.
 
What it is a bit of a stranger to would be being part of a soon-to-be-debuting national television program. However, that changed starting Monday.
 
On Monday, a crew with the Discovery Science Channel was in Bridgeport and Clarksburg filming for new show called “Tomorrow’s World Today.” The episode that will include segments of the two Harrison County cities and the airport is one that focuses on Allegiant Airlines serving the NCWV Airport.
 
To help facilitate things, Allegiant’s Hilarie Grey was in town to facilitate the process. Grey is the airline’s director of corporate communications and she said she was thrilled that Allegiant was chosen for the new show and the reason it was chosen.
 
“We were very fortunate and were selected to be the subject of an upcoming show ...,” said Grey about being on the program. “It’s a show about innovation, and not just about technology; it’s about where innovative ideas come from.”
 
Grey’s assessment on the new show mirrored the Web site. It’s described there as: “Tomorrow’s World Today took on a huge challenge: find a better way for our society to live a more sustainable life. What is next in terms of innovation in our daily lives that we can see today and will make a difference tomorrow?
 
“This cutting-edge television show will travel the world in search of innovative pioneers who are creating new ways to utilize our natural and technological resources for a more sustainable lifestyle.”
 
The innovation in question here involves Allegiant and what it provides not only to the NCWV Airport, but more than a hundred other similar airport. Unlike the legacy carriers, Allegiant is going into small cities and providing non-stop flights to vacation destinations.
 
“We’re creating access for people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to fly by virtue of price point or virtue of geography,” she said. “We’re here at the Clarksburg airport (CKB) and it serves people from roughly a 200-mile radius who wouldn’t want to necessarily go or be able to go to Pittsburgh or Charleston for service and we can get them down to Florida for a vacation right here.”
 
Allegiant decided to choose Bridgeport for part of the segment. NCWV Director Rick Rock said it speaks highly of the relationship the airport has with the carrier.
 
“We’ve worked at fostering the relationship and this is something unexpected in a good way that is a result of that relationship,” said Rock.
 
Rock has known about it for some time and also let the Benedum Airport Authority, the governing body of the airport, members know about it as well. Member David Hinkle, who was on hand for the shoot today with Rock, Grey and several others that included Bridgeport Mayor Andy Lang, and was pleased with the show’s presence in the area.
 
“I was excited when Rick told us they were going to do this and Allegiant thought enough of CKB to let us be part of it,” said Hinkle.
 
The Discovery Science crew did interviews and shot footage throughout the two cities today. Grey said along with the history of the area, the film crew focused on the aerospace-related businesses and new development that is taking place.
 
The crew spent just one day for the West Virginia portion of the show. Grey said they would be in Orlando today (Tuesday, June 12). The purpose of that, she said, is to not only show new aircraft and company folks, but to allow them to film what it’s like to see the travelers from small communities reach their destination.
 
“Discovery Science was interested in showing in the age of consolidation, where the legacy carriers are chasing the dollar of the business traveler flying from Los Angeles to New York, who is looking out for Americans at other places where services may have left their community,” said Grey. “We’re definitely filling that need.”
 
Editor's Note: Top photo shows some of the film crew with the Discovery Science Channel at the NCWV Airport Monday, while Airport Authority member David Hinkle is shown below.


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