Three of the largest companies in Bradford are supporting
Bradford Regional Airport’s current carrier, Colgan Air Inc., to
continue service to Washington Dulles International Airport.

Officials from Zippo Manufacturing Co., W.R. Case & Sons
Cutlery Co., and KOA Speer Electronics Inc., filed letters of
support for Colgan with the U.S. Department of Transportation,
which is charged with deciding which airline will provide service
to Bradford Regional under the auspices of the federal Essential
Air Service program.

Earlier, federal, state and local officials – including members
of the Bradford Regional Airport Authority and other related groups
– expressed their support for Colgan, which changed hub cities from
Pittsburgh to Washington and parent carriers from US Airways
Express to United Airlines earlier this year.

Airport officials – who are hoping to eventually increase the
number of passengers using the airport and get out from underneath
the EAS program – are currently waiting word from the DOT on
whether the agency will accept a bid from Colgan to continue
service for another two years under EAS or change to Gulfstream
International Airlines from Florida, who has recently made a play
to enter the northeastern market.

Colgan announced earlier this year it would be rebidding for the
service under its two-year EAS contract with the DOT.

The final outcome could boil down to funding, with Colgan’s
proposal to provide service to both Bradford and nearby Jamestown,
N.Y., standing an additional ,1 million more than Gulfstream’s
highest proposal.

The move to Washington was made, in part, to offer additional
domestic and international destinations to travelers, including
businesspeople.

In his letter to the DOT, Zippo President and Chief Executive
Officer Greg Booth said he’s confident Colgan is the right choice
for the community and businesses in Bradford.

According to Booth, last year Zippo spent more than ,500,000 on
air travel – including ,400,000 which was spent on travel to
international markets, including Asia and Europe.

Booth said the previous service to Pittsburgh under Colgan and
the previous carriers caused an inconvenience due to a lack of
international connections at that airport. Therefore, it did not
allow the company to use Bradford Regional for international
travel.

With the switch to Washington-Dulles, Zippo officials began
using Bradford Airport to fly internationally.

A similar scenario holds true at KOA Speer, which also
frequently travels internationally to visit customers in North and
South America and to Asia to meet with officials at the company’s
parent and sister operations.

President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Rice said KOA’s
annual air travel expenses range between ,500,000 and ,1
million.

“Efficient and reliable air connections are a critical success
factor for our business,” Rice said in his letter.

For his part, Case President and Chief Executive Officer Tom
Arrowsmith said the company participates in several trade shows and
consumer events nationally and the lack of connections at
Pittsburgh forced officials to drive to the Buffalo, N.Y., or Erie
airports.

All three companies also indicated that selecting Gulfstream to
provide service to Bradford Regional on Beech 1900 airplanes to
Cleveland would cause each of them to look elsewhere for air
travel.

By comparison, Colgan uses Saab 340 airplanes, which come with
amenities, to service Bradford and Jamestown.

Local airport officials said previously the availability of
commercial air service is critical to the economic success of the
region.

There was no word on when the DOT would make a final decision on
the air service.