Discussion Explores Air Service From West Virginia Airport to D.C.

Executives from Colgan Air Inc. gathered a lot of good information during two days of meetings here this week, said Yeager Airport Director Rick Atkinson. "They're going to go back and see what kind of pricing they can offer and see how that goes," he said.

Colgan flies the US Airways Express flag to Reagan National Airport and the United Express flag to Washington Dulles.

Travelers have worried that airfares will skyrocket since low-fare carrier Independence Air shut down on Jan. 5. Some of Charleston's frequent flyers met Monday and Tuesday with Dennis Burdette, Colgan's director of development, and Mary Finnigan, a marketing specialist for Colgan, trying to convince them that Colgan can keep fares low and still make money.

Atkinson has said that Colgan is intrigued by the fact Independence proved there was a pent-up demand for Washington, D.C., travel. Atkinson said Colgan is trying to figure out how it can capture that business and make a profit.

This week's meetings included sessions with Catherine DeMarco, the travel manager in the state Purchasing Division, and representatives of the federal Government Services Administration; the Capital Area Services Co. Inc., known as CASCI; the West Virginia Professional Lobbyists Association; and National Travel, which has contracts with many local businesses.

Burdette and Finnigan promised to get back in touch with the people they met within the week, Atkinson said.

"They were impressed with the community and the response they received and I'm looking forward to seeing what they come back with," Atkinson said.

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Bob Ellis, vice president of operations at Kanawha Eagle Coal, has pointed out that some news stories last week reported that mines are inspected every three months.

"I think a lot of people think that," he said. "Some congressmen probably think that. It couldn't be further from the truth."

He said inspectors were present last year during 218 of the 269 days Kanawha Eagle's Mine No. 1 at Comfort produced coal.

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Wheeling Jesuit University announced on Friday that David Levine has stepped down as executive director of new business development at the Robert C. Byrd National Technology Transfer Center.

Levine joined the staff at the center last July, after leaving a $94,008-a-year job as director of technology and transformation in the West Virginia Development Office. Levine's NTTC salary was paid by Wheeling Jesuit University and was not public information.

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The Jan. 27 story about Huntington Banks' purchase of the lot on the southeast corner of Quarrier and McFarland streets did not include the sale price.

According to the deed recorded at the Kanawha County Clerk's office, Huntington Banks bought the lot from M.A. Ghannam for $495,000.

Contact writer George Hohmann at 348-4836 or [email protected].

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