US Airways leaves another WV airport

According to an article in the Charleston Gazette this week, U.S. Airways is ending service between Yeager Airport and Pittsburgh, just as it did a while back at Tri-State Airport.

The Gazette article quoted Rick Atkinson, director of Yeager Airport, explaining that the Pittsburgh airport doesn't have the connections it once did, so Yeager's customers are using other hubs. Delta service to its Atlanta hub is now the main hub city for flights originating in Charleston, Atkinson said.

Reading this, it becomes apparent why Delta eliminated its service between Tri-State and Atlanta recently. If Delta's Atlanta service is doing so well at Charleston, why maintain a second, lower-volume operation less than an hour away?

Tri-State once considered Yeager as competition, considering how many people in this market went to Yeager for flights. But there was something to consider that many people overlook. Parts of eastern Cabell County -- say, from the Huntington Mall eastward -- are almost as close to Yeager as they are to Tri-State. If you go by Interstate 64, the Milton exit is pretty close to being the halfway point between the two airports.

But Tri-State has carved out its own niche as a place for low-cost carriers. Well, one low-cost carrier, that being Allegiant Air. Allegiant's service to Orlando has done so well here that it is adding service to Fort Lauderdale, too.

Yeager had a low-cost carrier for a while in Independence Air, but that airline went out of business.

In the days when it looked like a new regional airport might be a possibility, there was competition between Yeager and Tri-State, with Yeager coming out ahead.

But now there's no reason to see an us vs. them conflict. Each airport can carve out its own niche and prosper.