ured in part in terms of the industrial health and growth of the region. The Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Airport was dedicated on June 1, 1947. Two airlines, American and Colonial, opened the trunkline service to the field at that time. Colonial, of course, eventually merged with Eastern Air Lines which continued the service. On April 25, 1948, TWA opened trunkline service at the airport, and we were thus provided with Eastern for north-south service, and with TWA and American for east-west service.

On June 20, 1949, All American Airways, now Allegheny Airlines, moved in to provide local carrier service. The adequacy of this service might well be pictured by noting that with this addition it was possible to fly to such major markets as Chicago, Buffalo, Cincinnati or Dayton, Ohio without changing planes.

We do not have such a picture today.

With the authorization of the Civil Aeronautics Board, American Airlines terminated its services at the airport last year. Trans World Airlines has also been given permission to withdraw its services from the airport, and is presently being kept there only because of a pending action before the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission.

The loss of this is a severe blow to the people of the community and is a very serious blow to the program of industrial development. We have lost, or are losing our major east-west service through the loss of American and TWA trunkline service. There is no direct service to Chicago, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Dayton, or even Kennedy International Airport.

The frequency of service, too, is something which I would question severely. It has been argued that there are not enough passengers in the area to justify the continued flights. In its presentation requesting termination of its services at the airport, TWA presented the argument that its passenger rate had declined by 40 percent. This is true. What was not noted was the fact that the number of flights had declined by 41 percent in the same period. It was also not noted that the budget of TWA for advertising flights in the Scanton-Wilkes-Barre market has been zero for most of the years in which they have flown out of the airport.

In point of fact, there has been a continuing demand for more airline services. In the face of flights that diminished from 16,094 in 1963 to 15,274 in 1964-a loss of 820 flights by regularly scheduled airlines the number of passengers rose from 137,000 to 142,000. In the same period the mail increased by 70,000 pounds, the express by 22,000 pounds, and the freight by 497,000 pounds. It is noteworthy that over the past year, also, the general traffic in private planes has increased by 7,000 flights.

I think this latter figure to be significant. More and more, companies in the area are compelled to depend on their own private airplanes. Unfortunately, though, most companies do not have private planes. Were there to be more frequent and well-scheduled flights, I believe that much of this passenger traffic would go to the scheduled airlines.

What is lacking is not the desire of the people to fly, but rather a schedule of frequent flights at reasonable hours that would take them to their desired points of debarkation without the necessity of changing planes en route.

There is a third point which I would make with you that bears some examination. When the new airport terminal building was constructed at the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Airport in 1959, it was constructed in consultation with American, TWA, Eastern, and Allegheny Airlines, to make certain that each would have the proper space necessary for the conduct of business. Such consultation was made on the basis of a 25-year agreement signed by each of the airlines, covering such items as landing fees, gasoline prices, and other household type of items. The economy of the airport itself was predicated on the presence of these four airlines.

I will give you the revenue expected from each trunkline during a given year, based on the actual revenue received during the year

The airport is faced now with the loss of nearly all that revenue. This is coming at a time when the airport itself is operating with a net operating deficit of approximately $27,000 per year. This deficit is being paid now by the counties of Luzerne and Lackawanna, and higher deficits appear probable in the years to come which also must be paid by the taxpayers. I am informed that better and more frequent scheduling could well turn this into a narrow margin of profit, or at least to a small, manageable deficit.

To put this simply, the continued loss of trunkline service might well put the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Airport right out of business. It is presently putting the airport into the position where it cannot take advantage of Federal programs which would improve the airport, because it just does not have the matching funds needed.

I make the strongest possible representation to this committee that something be done to encourage the Civil Aeronautics Board to examine more carefully the requests of the airlines to discontinue their trunklines.

On the grounds of frequency of flights leaving our airport, on the grounds of adequate flights to major markets, on the grounds of the timing of flights that leave the airport, I do not believe we are getting

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adequate trunk service at the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Airport. The cutback in these flights has, as I have noted, wrought a serious financial ill upon the airport. It also threatens the present and future plans for industrial expansion in an area that is hard pressed to keep its unemployment rate low.

It does not make sense to me to have Government agencies working at cross-purposes. On the one hand the Appalachian program and other programs are written to aid areas precisely like this area serviced by the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Airport. On the other hand, the Civil Aeronautics Board is permitting the cutting of one of the essential lifelines of industrial growth-adequate air transportation through both trunk and local carriers.

It is my hope that this committee will reflect the will of Congress to tell the Civil Aeronautics Board to reexamine the grounds they have accepted for trunkline termination in the past. It is my hope that the committee will point out to the CAB that the public welfare is the first consideration which should motivate their decisions. I do not believe that enough weight has been given this in the case of American Airlines and TWA. I hope that the action of this committee might cause a reversal of these decisions. The reversal is surely needed. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Senator MONRONEY. Thank you very much for your very helpful statement, Congressman McDade. May I ask what the schedule of your service is today roughly, approximate times of departure and number of planes?

Mr. MCDADE. TWA is there, as I noted by reason of the reluctance of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, which flies at such uncertain hours that I can't tell you what the scheduling is.

Senator MONRONEY. One flight in and one flight out a day?

Mr. McDADE. Yes.

Senator MONRONEY. Generally in the morning and evening?

Mr. McDADE. It is my understanding it had been changed to an early hour in the morning, approximately 5 o'clock in the morning since they have been there. Eastern Air Lines, which furnishes our northsouth service, provides a schedule that jumps continually. They used to have a flight which left Scranton-Wilkes-Barre at 8 o'clock in the morning and arrived direct in Washington at approximately 9. The flying time is about 1 hour and some odd minutes. At the present time that flight leaves about a half hour earlier, about 7:30 in the morning and by the time it gets through with its stops, it arrives in Washington at approximately 10:30. I might add that often this flight originates in Syracuse or Binghamton, N.Y. and God knows what time the people in Syracuse and Binghamton have to get up in order to make this flight and the total flight time must approximate almost 6 hours and you can drive it in nearly that time.

Senator MONRONEY. That is from the more distant place like Binghamton, N.Y.?

Mr. McDADE. That is correct, Mr. Chairman, which is where this flight sometimes originates.

Senator MONRONEY. Did you ever have an 8 to 9 flight when you had better service than you do now?

Mr. McDADE. Yes, sir; we used to have it. In fact, this is my second term and when I first came down, the plane left at approximately 8 and arrived at Washington National Airport at 9 o'clock.

Senator MONRONEY. Now it is approximately 7:30 to 10:30, is that correct?

Mr. McDADE. Yes.

Senator MONRONEY. More stops have been put on?

Mr. McDADE. Allentown and Philadelphia and I might add that from my own experience, the plane at that hour was crowded. Since they have changed the time and increased the flying time, the number of passengers has declined, but they stop in Philadelphia for approximately 20 to 25 minutes and pick up a 9 o'clock flight out of Philadelphia, which then has the plane crammed. But I am quite sure that there are plenty of other airplanes flying out of Philadelphia at approximately 9 o'clock to make that a profitable run. It doesn't seem to me they have to change the flight to make it arrive in Philadelphia to pick up the 9 o'clock passengers. This seems to me to be hardly the proper way to do it.

Senator MONRONEY. Allegheny, as I gather from what you say, has two flights?

Mr. McDADE. I can't tell you the precise schedule Allegheny flies, but I would say Allegheny does service us to Newark and westerly and Allegheny does a good job, but it does not provide direct connections with the west or through flights to the west.

Senator MONRONEY. You have to change in Philadelphia if you are going west.

Mr. McDADE. Or Harrisburg or Pittsburgh. The main virtue of the TWA flight which went to pittsburgh was that we could then make connections out of Pittsburgh and fly west.

Senator MONRONEY. I see, and TWA is in there, you say, on sort of a holding order by the Pennsylvania Utility Corp.?

Mr. McDADE. That is correct, Mr. Chairman.

Senator MONRONEY. What type of service and what seat load would you feel would be adequate and what service per day would be adequate for your community?

Mr. McDADE. Mr. Chairman, I am not an expert insofar as the figures are concerned and I wouldn't care to even venture an opinion. I do say this, I do say that the airlines can in some fashion economically provide the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Airport with the local service it is now getting as well as trunkline service to the major markets of this country. It is not being done now. It is not being done now. I don't think there is any question but that as I have indicated in my statement, the number of passengers is rising. I think that if the airlines will schedule their flights at reasonable times with reasonable frequency, there is no question but that they can provide us with good trunkline services across the country and east-west.

Senator MONRONEY. In lieu of better service and more frequent service, where is the airport that would be used by people of Scranton to make connections to the west?

Mr. McDADE. There just isn't one. They have to go all the way to Newark, to Philadelphia

Senator MONRONEY. What is the distance?

Mr. McDADE. To Philadelphia, approximately 120 miles. The distance to New York City, and when I say New York City, I am including Kennedy International and LaGuardia, would be approximately 130 miles. I might, say, Mr. Chairman, that this includes the

cities in the southern tier of the cities of New York such as Binghamton. They also face the same problem because given inadequate service in Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, the only place you can get it is in one of the major cities close by, that is, Philadelphia and New York and/ or Newark, all of which are at a distance from the cities of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, 130 miles, which is 22 to 3 hours' driving time. Senator MONRONEY. Is it difficult to get reservations on either line going through? They don't come through with full loads either, do they?

Mr. McDADE. No, sir; they do not.

Senator MONRONEY. On Allegheny, for example, seats are readily available when you request them?

Mr. McDADE. I can't be certain about the status of Allegheny—I have flown it to Newark and I have had some trouble getting on it, not a great deal. When the Eastern Airlines people were running a flight, it left Scranton at 8 o'clock in the morning and arrived at Washington approximately 9. It was difficult to get a reservation on it. They are now running in an opposite direction south to north, a nonstop flight in the evening from Washington, and I know on many a Friday, I have been unable to get on the plane and have had to drive. It is packed, but it is direct service and leaves at a reasonable time and flies nonstop.

Senator MONRONEY. In other words, the point that you are making is that when you have a good plane, not making too frequent stops and not taking too long to get there, why the service is rewarded by a rather full plane load?

Mr. McDADE. That is my opinion, Mr. Chairman; yes, sir.

Senator MONRONEY. You feel that your airport still could continue to use probably the reciprocating engine type equipment rather than jets?

Mr. McDADE. We have never seen a jet at our airport.

Senator MONRONEY. I doubt your runway is big enough.

Mr. McDADE. I don't know. They land a Lockheed Constellation up there occasionally when Eastern is pressed for equipment and I think they could take a turboprop. I don't know if it can take a pure jet.

Senator MONRONEY. Senator Morton.

Senator MORTON. I commend you on your statement and it is very illuminating. Thank you for your appearance.

Senator MONRONEY. Senator Bass.

Senator BASS. Have you personally discussed your situation with the officials of the airlines?

Mr. McDADE. No, sir.

Senator BASS. Do you know if your city officials have?

Mr. McDADE. Oh, there is a continuing clamor, Senator, about the fact that we have been steadily losing our services at the city. The only person that I have ever talked to directly was a representative of Allegheny Airlines, who shows a real interest in our community. Allegheny, of course, has a self-interest in seeing TWA and some of the other western flights leave our community, but there is a constant dialogue between the local chambers of commerce and all of the people in our communities about whether or not we are going to continue to lose airline service.