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Show In ouropinion Council right to wait; examine closely 'donations' The decision by the Cedar City Council to "table' thee request from Sky West President Jerry Atkin for a donation to aid in a legal battle did not go far enough. The council should reject the request and any other similar future requests. It has not been three months since the council okayed a similar request of $1,000 to go to legal fees. We are growing tired of paying the St. george based commuter airline's attorney. at-torney. Atkin made no hesition, apparently, ap-parently, in telling the Salt Lake Tribune Business Editor of their 1977-78 fiscal year sales of $1.3 million, with profits of $80,000. He also said he anticipates earning's of $100,000 on sales of $1.75 million this coming year. Let them pay their own legal fees for battles which will help, or so we are to understand, their service. The present battle with the CAB we are being asked to help wage involves a decision to allow commuter airlines to purchase larger craft for their flights. The record of CAB-Skywest or even CAB-Cedar City battles in not a good one. Past experience has indicated the $250 donation is almost water down the drain. Plus we have noted before the discrepancy in rates charged from Salt Lake to Cedar versus St. George and the cooresponding charges from Las Vegas to the two communities. Both instances show St. George receiving an apparent price break. The landing fee argument doesn't hold water with us. The $1.00 landing fee shouldn't shake up a company employing over 55 persons, as Skywest does. We would also like to see Sky West begin some reduced fare flights, as other airlines have done. Key Airlines, a commuter about the size of Sky West has a "peanut" flight from Twin Falls to Boise for $19, running competition with Hughes $40 flight. The cheap no-frills flight is becoming increasingly in-creasingly popular. As of press time, charges for one person, one way, from Cedar City to Salt Lake City was $44, and exactly double for the round trip. For comparisons sake: Salt Lake to Houston on a major carrier (not just a small twin-engine, twin-engine, turbulance-plaugued aircraft) is $91. Round trip. From Salt Lake to Denver, one way is $29. Round trip peanut fare to New York from Salt Lake is $221. Salt Lake to Vegas Round trip on special Western flights in only $68, and again, we are talking about a major carrier. From Denver to atlanta, round trip, $125 on Delta airlines. Efforts should continue for Cedar City to attract a major carrier. We envision that possibility. But hesitation should rightly proceed action in considering any whirlwind. requests for donations to fight legal battles. |