Westover awaits Skybus arrival

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The new discount passenger carrier will start offering flights to Columbus, Ohio, on July 16.

CHICOPEE - Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray and area state legislators were given an update on Skybus Airlines impending "takeoff" at Westover Metropolitan Airport during a meeting at Westover Metropolitan Development Corp. yesterday.

Allan W. Blair, president and chief executive officer of Westover Metropolitan Development Corp., gave an overview of the airport's operations, highlighting Skybus' July 16 start-up date. The discount passenger carrier will be the first regular passenger service at the airport since the late 1980s.

"We're really excited about this," said Blair, who is also president and chief executive officer of Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council. "We're trying to demonstrate that airports are not just for the convenience of passengers, they're economic drivers."

Skybus will offer once-daily flights on Airbus A319 jets to Columbus, Ohio, from the airport, which includes 188 acres in the civilian portion of Westover Air Reserve Base. Skybus will offer 10 seats on each flight at $10. Most other tickets will cost $30 to $50. From Columbus, travelers can connect to several other places in the country, including California and Florida. The jets seat 144 passengers.

Blair explained how the new flight service will bring people to Chicopee who will then rent cars, get rooms at local hotels and eat at local restaurants.

"We're likely to see folks here who normally wouldn't be passing through," Blair said.

The visit by Murray was organized by state Rep. Joseph F. Wagner, D-Chicopee, chairman of the Joint Committee on Transportation. State Sen. Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield, state Rep. James T. Welch, D-West Springfield, Kenneth W. Delude, president of Westmass Area Development Corp., and Michael W. Bolton, director of civil aviation at the airport, also attended.

Wagner asked if other similar passenger carriers are expected to come to Westover. Blair said that in six months, if Skybus is a success, the airport will start talking to other airlines. But he stressed that Westover will never become a major airport.

Murray said smaller airports will increasingly see a demand from airlines because the larger airports, like Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, will be at capacity in the coming years.

Blair said the city of Chicopee has filed a $1.85 million grant application with the new Massachusetts Opportunity Relocation and Expansion Jobs Capital Program to pay for 130 new parking spaces at the airport and roadway improvements at the industrial park.

The program, run by the state Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, has set aside $100 million to offer two grant rounds of $50 million each. Murray said the state has received 69 applications for the first round, totaling approximately $350 million in requests.

"There's a lot of competition," Murray said.

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