Flights

Allegiant Air's $59.99 introductory fare from Hagerstown to Orlando is only for some flights, airline spokeswoman Jessica Wheeler said Friday. In his announcement Thursday that Allegiant would offer twice-weekly flights between Hagerstown Regional Airport and Orlando starting May 25, Allegiant Manager of Airports Eric Fletcher announced an “introductory fare of $59.99 each way.” The company news release issued at the time of the announcement said...

LONDON (AP) -- Many European flights took to the skies Tuesday for the first time in days but the travel chaos was far from over: London's airports were still closed, a massive flight backlog was growing and scientists feared that history could repeat itself with yet another volcanic eruption in Iceland. Airports in London will remain closed until at least Wednesday, though British Airways sought permission to land about a dozen flights from the United States, Asia and Africa at Heathrow Airport.

By DAVE McMILLION Staff Writer USAirways Express flights from Hagerstown to Baltimore, used by about 25,000 people a year, are expected to be eliminated starting Tuesday, USAirways and Washington County Regional Airport officials said Friday. The decision follows problems with the Baltimore flights that started last September, said Airport Manager Carolyn Motz. The flights were cancelled for a week that month because of crew problems, Motz said. Motz said the elimination of the flights has nothing to do with the local airport, but rather problems with Mesa Airlines, the New Mexico carrier that operates the service.

tarar@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - Hagerstown Regional Airport expects to land a new commercial airline that will offer daily flights to and from the Washington County-owned airport by July 4. A ruling Friday by the U.S. Department of Transportation that redesignated the airport as an Essential Air Service facility guarantees commercial flights at the airport through September 2007, Airport Business Development Manager Greg Larsen told...

Washington County Commissioner John F. Barr and Hagerstown Regional Airport officials were in Arizona this week to talk to Allegiant Air officials about additional flights in and out of Hagerstown, including Myrtle Beach, S.C., and more Florida destinations, Barr said Thursday. Airport Director Phil Ridenour told the commissioners Tuesday he would meet with Allegiant representatives Friday to discuss the possibility of opening a route from Hagerstown to Myrtle Beach. Direct Air had scheduled flights to Myrtle Beach that ended in 2011.

Washington County officials this morning officially announced that Allegiant Air, which previously provided air service out of Hagerstown Regional Airport, will again offer flights between Hagerstown and Orlando. County, airline and airport officials made the announcement Thursday morning at the airport, although the information already had been posted on the airport's website.   The nonstop jet service between Hagerstown and Orlando, Fla., via Orlando Sanford International Airport will begin May 25, a release on the airport's webpage said.

Boston-Maine flights start By JULIE E. GREENE julieg@herald-mail.com Daily flights to Baltimore-Washington International Airport from Hagerstown Regional Airport will begin on Dec. 28. Boston-Maine Airways of Portsmouth, N.H., a division of Pan American, received certification this week from the Federal Aviation Administration to provide passenger air service to Baltimore from Hagerstown and Cumberland, Md. ...

Air Midwest, a U.S. Airways Express carrier that planned to leave Hagerstown Regional Airport, will receive a $650,000 annual federal subsidy to stay there through September 2007. See Saturday's Herald-Mail for the full story.

tarar@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - If you're flexible with your travel dates, it just got cheaper to fly from Hagerstown to popular destinations throughout the country. US Airways has realigned Hagerstown Regional Airport's fares with those offered at Washington, D.C., airports, reducing ticket prices by several hundred dollars, said Greg Larsen, Hagerstown Regional Airport's business development manager. Hagerstown Regional Airport began its "LowFares" promotion three weeks ago. It is the same as US Airways' "GoFares" program.

The indiscriminate budget cuts known as “sequestration” will soon be felt in Maryland and in Washington County. Last week it was announced that air traffic control towers at the Hagerstown and Frederick airports will likely be closed. The flickering signal sent from these closing control towers should be read correctly: We need to change course or prepare for a bumpy landing. The Frederick and Hagerstown airports bring more than $200 million into the local economy and support thousands of jobs.

Washington County Commissioner John F. Barr and Hagerstown Regional Airport officials were in Arizona this week to talk to Allegiant Air officials about additional flights in and out of Hagerstown, including Myrtle Beach, S.C., and more Florida destinations, Barr said Thursday. Airport Director Phil Ridenour told the commissioners Tuesday he would meet with Allegiant representatives Friday to discuss the possibility of opening a route from Hagerstown to Myrtle Beach. Direct Air had scheduled flights to Myrtle Beach that ended in 2011.

Sun Air is delaying its plan to expand commercial service at Hagerstown Regional Airport until early 2013, according to Phil Ridenour, the airport's director. The company started flying between Hagerstown and Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia on Nov. 5, four days later than the carrier first expected. The delay was attributed, in part, to delays caused by Superstorm Sandy. Only one passenger from the public flew any of the legs on the first two round-trips between Hagerstown and Dulles.

David and Peggy Beamer, parents of Todd Beamer, the passenger on Flight 93 who uttered the now famous battle cry, “Let's roll,” on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania on 9/11, met with Charles Town Middle School students Tuesday. David Beamer, addressing the eighth-grade class in the school gym, said the fact that United Flight 93 was delayed in leaving Newark was a “blessing.” It prevented the terrorists who hijacked the plane from reaching what many believe was their targeted destination: the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. He said because of the delay, the 43 passengers and three crew members had time to learn that terrorists had crashed two planes into the World Trade Center towers and one into the Pentagon earlier that morning.

The first day of air service from Hagerstown Regional Airport to Dulles International Airport has been postponed from Thursday to Monday. Phil Ridenour, the director of Hagerstown Regional Airport, said the delay was caused by the storm that hit the East Coast earlier in the week. David Hackett of Sun Air said last week that the storm could hamper plans to start service in Hagerstown if it prevented the airline from moving its planes to the area during the past weekend. Hackett couldn't be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Local air service will change Oct. 31/Nov. 1 at Hagerstown Regional Airport, when a new carrier starts flying to a new destination. On Wednesday, Cape Air's flights between Hagerstown and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport will end, said Andrew Bonney, the airline's vice president of planning. On Thursday, Sun Air International will start service between Hagerstown and Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia near Washington, D.C. Sun Air will begin with two flights per day, or 14 a week.

About 10,000 people turned out Saturday for the 2012 Thunder Over the Blue Ridge Open House & Air Show, according to organizers. More than $13,000 in donations to United Way of the Eastern Panhandle were collected Saturday at the entrance gates, according to spokeswoman Tiffany Lawrence, who noted the support of dozens of volunteers. “The generosity has been overwhelming,” Lawrence said. Gates open Sunday at 9 a.m. for the second day of the show at Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport.

A two-under-par 70 has been the norm for Chuck Thatcher in the first round of the last two WACO Championships. Last year was good enouogh to share the first-round lead with eventual winner Jim Markovitz. This year, Thatcher hopes to eliminate the second-round blues. The 29th edition WACO Open tees off on Saturday at 6:30 a.m. with 148 golfers perusing the 6,650-yard layout of Beaver Creek Country Club. A disappointing 75 took Thatcher out of contention, but he bounced back and rediscovered his game to win the Frederick City Amateur weeks later.

Having reached age 84, Leatrice Shoemaker figured it was time she did something she always wanted to do. Her chance came Friday evening, when she climbed into a basket below a 250,000-cubic-foot hot-air balloon and drifted away from the earth's boundless gravity. The basket she was in was the largest of about a dozen that were lifted off the ground Friday at the Green Grove Gardens Hot Air Balloon Festival 2012. The event continues through Sunday. Helicopter rides are being offered today.

I recently wrote a column about getting along, but it will have to wait until next week. The theme of that column has to do with political factions getting along for the betterment of people as a whole.  But after our esteemed president, his administration and his staff spent time in “la la land,” I just don't have getting along in my heart for today's column. Two weeks ago the Obama administration gutted the Welfare Reform Act of 1996 (President Bill Clinton signed the law) by abolishing reasonable standards that define work.