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Hundreds on Hand to Hear NCWV Airport's Talk on Benefits of United Express Service through SkyWest

By Jeff Toquinto on October 10, 2017 via Connect-Bridgeport.com

The North Central West Virginia Airport is kicking off its new daily flight service under the United Airlines banner starting Nov. 1. Today, officials with the airport took a big step in hoping they can make it a success.
 
A crowd of more than 200 individuals gathered at the Village Square Conference Center in Clarksburg to hear from Airport Authority members and NCWV Airport Director Rick Rock about the airport’s first daily regional jet service provider. Rock described the meeting as a “call to action” hoping that the flight service that’s coming will stay in place for the long haul.
 
“I don’t want you to give me your business. I want to earn your business,” said Rock. “ … With this new service, we’ll either use it or lose it and we’ve been told that you’re only going to get one shot at this.”
 
To make the most of the opportunity in front of them with United Express, which will utilize SkyWest to provide air service, invitations were sent to stakeholders throughout the region. Elected officials, business leaders, travel agents, tourism officials and others were all in attendance for the roughly 30-minute presentation that also included a luncheon.
 
The airport is trying desperately to regain the confidence of the business – and public – traveler with their new daily air service provider through the FAA’s Essential Air Service (EAS) program. The last several providers have been plagued with delays and cancellations that not only led to near empty flights, but flights frequently canceled.
 
ViaAir, the airport’s most recent EAS daily provider, actually had more canceled flights than ones that took off to their hubs in Baltimore and Charlotte. The service was so bad that the Airport Authority terminated their contract with Via and rebid it.
 
Despite the poor numbers, the NCWV Airport was able to get a bid from SkyWest flying for United. What that means is a 50-seat Canadair Regional Jet and a provider that has a near perfect performance record is on its way to Bridgeport.
 
“When (SkyWest) bid they said they would have a 98.6 percent rate on flights taking off as scheduled … The number is actually at 99.6 percent,” said Rock. “ … We want reliability and we have it in this partner.”
 
The partner will be offering daily flights to two hubs, including the massive O’Hare Airport in Chicago as well as Washington’s Dulles International Airport. Those two airports will be able to provide connections for direct flights to more than 100 destinations nationally and even internationally.
 
Bridgeport’s Greg Hefner, Manager External Affairs for FirstEnergy, said his company would definitely consider the service.
 
“I think it’s a great opportunity for the business community not only in Harrison County, but in the region,” said Hefner. “This is a regional airport that benefits citizens of North Central West Virginia and beyond quite frankly. What they’re doing is major for the area and we would absolutely do what we could to support it.”
 
Hefner said that, right away, having United Airlines in Bridgeport provides an extra level of comfort. It is one of the four major carriers operating nationwide.
 
“United is viewed as a leader in the industry.  With direct flights to D.C. and Chicago it opens up the country for those here and for those wanting to come here,” said Hefner. “That’s on the business front and on the personal front as travelers.”
 
Ron Watson, the president of the Airport Authority, is hoping groups like FirstEnergy will take advantage of the service. He said there’s one basic task for the Authority as it relates to United’s arrival.
 
“Our goal is to put butts in seats,” said Watson. “ … (United through SkyWest) is the real deal.”
 
Rock said those “butts in seats” need to be consistent. The EAS bid SkyWest submitted and that was accepted by the Authority and approved by the FAA is only good for two years. After that, SkyWest would have to want to rebid on the service if it’s deemed financially feasible.
 
“We wanted to educate people about United and the service it is and the opportunity it provides,” said Rock. “Getting everyone here at one time and delivering the message to as many as we can is important as it spreads the word and it saves time as we approach the launch of the service. It’s important to let everyone know not only the benefit of using this new service, but the convenience of using CKB (the airport’s FAA call letters) as opposed to going to Pittsburgh or another airport.”
 
Jacques Blondeau, the general manager of Bridgeport’s Pratt & Whitney branch at the airport, said the convenience factor is huge for him and should be for others. He said catching a morning flight to Pittsburgh to go to Canada requires getting to that airport two hours prior to the flight and more than two hours of travel time or more depending on potential traffic.
 
“Saving that four hours is valuable to me,” said Blondeau to the crowd on hand.
 
The airport has been working to capture the flight market in what is called its “catch pin” area, which is hundreds of thousands of people that opt to fly. For years, 92 percent of those flyers traveled to Pittsburgh or elsewhere to catch flights. With the arrival of Allegiant for destination flights in the last few years, the number has dropped to 85 percent.
 
“We want to see this flight drop that number even more,” said Rock.
 
Click HERE for the new flight schedule. You can book online by clicking HERE.


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