Decision Leaves Three Airports With No Scheduled Service

A decision by unionized American Eagle pilots leaves three airports in North Carolina without scheduled air service. It also means a consortium of six airports in the region might lose a $1.2 million federal grant.

At the center of the union vote was a regional carrier that would have fed American's hub in Raleigh-Durham. The service, which would have been run by Tennessee-based Corporate Airlines, required American pilots to issue a waiver before it could start service. The proposal was made to the union in November and turned down last week.

"It's kind of sad," said Brad Whited, director of the Fayetteville Regional Airport. "The consortium thought it was a no-brainer. We would continue to feed American." Whited made his remarks in an interview with The Fayetteville (NC) Observer.

If the six-airport consortium can't find a scheduled carrier by September, the FAA grants would dry up by the end of the year.

For Whited, the problem may be exacerbated by the fact that Fayetteville is fairly close to Raleigh-Durham itself. "I've said for many, many years, 'Give me 400,000 more people, and I will bring you another airline,'" he said. Unlike some of the other airports in the group, Fayetteville still has two scheduled carriers.

FMI: www.amrcorp.com