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Show 4 Corners Group Involving in Air Fight Members of the Four Corners Cor-ners Regional Commission last week pledged their sup-Kirt sup-Kirt to communities in the Four Corners area in the fight to maintain adequate commercial com-mercial airline service to the communities. Federal Co-chairman of the Commission, Stanley Wo-mer Wo-mer indicated that it appears that the airlines may have actually fostered "disutility" at smaller airports tobeable to show the CAH that service is no longer justified. Womer indicated that this strategy is already being used by theair-lines theair-lines in communities such as Moab; Gallup, N.M.; Cortez, Colo.; and at Prescott and Kingman, Arizona. The statement came after a meeting two weeks ago of community leaders in the Four Corners area who are suffering from problems encountered en-countered with inadequate service from Frontier. At the meetine. Dr. Dourlas Coch ran of the Four Corners Commission Com-mission indicated that an organization or-ganization of the communities of the Four Corners area wouldn't make much of an impression im-pression on the CAB and FA A, but suggested that such an organization might present its case to the Four Corners Commission, which in turn has considerable influence with the federal agencies. From the announcement by Womer this week, it appears that the Commission is ready to become involved in the situation. Economic Development Develop-ment Director Don Hoffman stated this week in response to Womer's statement, "We are delighted that the Four Corners Commission is interested in-terested in taking an active part in helping us solve the problem of air service. We realize that by being a federal fede-ral agency, they will have some limitations, however, their sphere of influence is greater than ours as community com-munity representatives would be." In his announcement, Womer Wo-mer proposed establishment of a surveillance program to be set up in the Four Coi ners to analyze CAB filings' effect on the region to provide the basis of an immediate plan of defensive action. He further fur-ther recommended that the Four Corners Commission formally vote to support air transport in the region and make known its "ability to react positively and immediately imme-diately to retain federally subsidized air service to the region." A team made up of a consultant con-sultant and a commission staff member would meet immediately im-mediately with the group of community leaders in the area and with a CAB specialist special-ist lawyer to fill necessary papers in support of air ser vice, Womer continued. The consultant would then develop an index of usabilityorutility of air service for each Four Corners town. "By such index it could be shown that an airline was creating a disutility disuti-lity in air service to the town, generally for the purpose of showing the CAB that the air service was not used or useful." use-ful." No such index now exists. I.rrally, Hoffman stated Mui we have known for years that Frontier is trying topull the same stunt as was done by the railroads, that is providing provid-ing unworkable schedules to a point where traffic declines and then when the boardings drop off, Frontier says they should stop service because there are no boardings. This index of utility would prove invaluable to us in fighting Frontier with their own weapons." |