It appears RegionsAir will begin servicing Bradford Regional
Airport on Aug. 28.

That’s the word from Airport Director Tom Frungillo, who said
Monday that officials from both RegionsAir and current carrier
Colgan Air Inc., have discussed making the transition on that
date.

“I am hearing the 28th of August is the changeover date,”
Frungillo indicated in an e-mail to The Era. Frungillo noted that
date will hold true “if everything comes together.”

In correspondence between high-ranking officials from both
airlines in April, RegionsAir President Doug Caldwell said the
airline told Colgan Air that it would like to make the transition
in late summer.

RegionsAir also began operations in West Virginia markets
earlier this year.

The airline will be taking over operations from Colgan under the
federal Essential Air Service program. The airline will fly 34-seat
Saab 340 aircraft and will be using Continental Airlines as its
parent carrier. It will also change hub cities from Pittsburgh to
Cleveland.

The U.S. Department of Transportation selected RegionsAir to
service Bradford and nearby Jamestown, N.Y., on March 21 after
Colgan – a US Airways Express carrier – had announced last fall
that it was looking to renegotiate its two-year contract with the
DOT under EAS due to an increase in fuel prices and a decline in
passenger levels.

The final decision by DOT eventually came down to money; the
federal government would have to pay a higher subsidy to Colgan to
fly into Washington under EAS. Bradford Airport officials had
chosen Washington as its choice for a hub city.

Officials are hoping the change in hub cities will provide
additional connections across the country and world, primarily for
business travelers.

Under the transition, the DOT expects Colgan to contact all
passengers holding reservations for travel to notify them of the
suspension of service and secure alternate air transportation for
them or provide a refund of the ticket price. Officials said
previously the bookings are changed with no extra cost to the
traveler, with fares guaranteed at the time flights are booked.

Among the steps that need to be taken in the transition process
are for RegionsAir to establish code sharing agreements, dealing
with Federal Aviation Administration regulations and training
employees. RegionsAir – which is currently using 19-passenger
aircraft in its fleet – also has to shift over to the 34-seat
planes.

The airline will also service nearby Jamestown, N.Y., as part of
its contract to provide service to Bradford Regional.