The region’s business travelers could soon find Beijing, China,
isn’t so far away, after all.

While Bradford Regional Airport looks to change hub cities to
Washington, others are working on a proposed non-stop route between
the nation’s capital and the Far East as part of “The
Capital-to-Capital Coalition.”

The direct flight between the cities would be a first from the
Mid-Atlantic region, according to the coalition’s Web site. The
U.S. Department of Transportation is slated to award the route by
the end of the year, with service beginning in March 2007.

Such a program is pertinent to Bradford because current carrier
Colgan Air Inc., which flies under the banner of US Airways
Express, is probing the idea of gaining a codeshare agreement with
United Airlines – one of four major airlines looking to obtain the
China service.

“When the changeover to Dulles occurs in the future, it could be
beneficial to companies in the area,” Airport Director Tom
Frungillo said. “It’s pretty preliminary right now. We’re
supporting it because it opens up another market to us.”

As it stands, local businesses are being asked to lend their
support to the effort, which would provide a unique economic
opportunity to Essential Air Service facilities. Two local
businesses, Zippo Manufacturing Co. and KOA Speer Electronics,
heavily invest in the Asian market.

Local airport officials believe the change to Washington is
essential to increase enplanements and provide more destinations
for business travelers and the general public.

“I think this would be very positive,” North Central
Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission Export
Marketing Director Chris Perneski said Wednesday. “We encourage our
local companies to travel. Anything that Bradford Regional Airport
does to enhance or link up to markets in China or Asia, it can only
be a positive for our region.”

Perneski said in promoting international trade, the agency urges
local companies to “go into the market, look it in the eye and see
where the competition is.”

First things first, however.

On Wednesday, Colgan’s Director of Development Dennis Burnett
said the process of changing hub cities is moving closer.

“We have done some modeling of the market (Washington) and how
it would effect the prices,” Burnett said. “All those analysis have
been completed. It looks good for us.”

While Burnett would not officially confirm a change in parent
carriers could be forthcoming, he did say the airline “is looking
at every single option that’s best for the community. We are
working with our code sharing partners to deliver the best possible
product.”

Colgan, which currently flies into Pittsburgh, was recently
named to continue service at the airport through an order by the
U.S. Department of Transportation, which had originally named
competitor RegionsAir to fly into Bradford at a low subsidy rate
through EAS.

Last fall, Colgan announced it was looking to renegotiate its
two-year contract with the DOT due to a decline in passenger levels
and a hike in fuel prices.

U.S. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., is backing the effort on all
fronts, including the Dulles to Beijing connection.

” … Direct service between the capitals of the United States and
China is long overdue,” Peterson wrote in a letter to the DOT,
adding Washington is linked to all the major capitals of the world,
except Beijing. “The United States will benefit from a direct tie
to the most populous nation on earth and our largest overseas
trading partner.”

The change in hubs in Bradford would tie right into that
notion.

“With the dust starting to settle on the carrier issue in
Bradford, and it becoming increasingly clear that Washington might
end up being BRA’s destination city, we’re even more supportive of
the idea,” Peterson’s Communications Director Chris Tucker
said.

On the local level, Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce Executive
Director Diane Sheeley said if the link were forged, members would
have to change even more how they perceive the business world
around them.

“We would need to prepare and educate our businesses, and the
people that live here, about what an opportunity like that would
mean. This global market is something the larger communities have
been in for years, and now we could be provided that
opportunity.”

Perneski said this region needs to maintain the viability of
Bradford Regional, and what such a change in hub cities and
destinations could mean.

“It’s often a daunting task to drive three hours to an airport
(Buffalo, N.Y., or Pittsburgh) and have your itinerary influenced
by having to go to more than one hub,” Perneski said. “The greater
the options, the easier it will be on businesses. Connecting to a
hub like Washington, I think that can only enhance what we already
have. It’s something to latch onto and identify with.”

Calls seeking comment from Greg Booth at Zippo and Lance Eastman
at KOA were not immediately returned.