Northeastern Pennsylvania struggling for more air connectivity

As things stand today, the prospects for more air services from Northeastern Pennsylvania appears bleak. With US Airways all set to significantly reduce its services, a grim future stares at the Avoca’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport. The Bi-County Airport Board, which is currently overseeing the operations at the airport, is preparing to aggressively woo several other carriers.

American Airlines abruptly stopped its flight services from the airport some years ago. Now, US Airways, which is into a final merger process with American Airlines, will also be reducing its services. This will now leave the airport with only few services, which are not enough for the residents of this region.

The Bi-County Airport Board authorities said that they are going to work aggressively to bring additional carriers, particularly JetBlue Airways, which is currently serving nearly half-dozen airports that are within two hours from here. JetBlue Airways will also prove to be a good bet for the airport as it expanded its presence in Pennsylvania recently.

JetBlue Airways had been serving Pittsburgh – the only one airport in Pennsylvania – until this year. The airline is now expanding its service to Pennsylvania by adding another service to Philadelphia from Boston’s Logan International Airport. No other airline has so far been able to provide competition to US Airways from here successfully. Finding this route profitable, JetBlue Airways now wants to expand its presence in Philadelphia further.

Currently, JetBlue Airways is already providing flight services to similar airports in size to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport. These include Westchester County, Syracuse/Hancock and Stewart/Newburgh airports. JetBlue Airways also serves out of New York LaGuardia and Newark Liberty, apart from its main hub at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The Bi-County Airport Board had earlier succeeded in getting a non-legacy carrier Allegiant Air to fly out of the airport, but fears additional service cuts because of the airport’s vulnerability.