Yatesville 
Pittston Area Board 
Votes Milazzo President 
Coreen Milazzo Was Elected President Of The Pittston Area School Board At A 
Reorganization Meeting Tuesday Night.

Big Names 
Will Boost 
Auction 
****************** 
File Photo

Tuesday, December 01, 1992 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1/6A QUICK WORDS: WILKES-BARRE
SCRANTON AIRPORT 





CUSTOMER -- USAir customer service agent Louise Fratzola checks the ticket
of 16-year-old Scranton resident Richard Bronson, who was headed to Pittsburgh
Monday. Bronson and all other travelers at the airport could be paying an
extra $3 per ticket next year if the airport institutes a surcharge. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ******************** &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By CHARLES H. BOGINO &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Times Leader Staff Writer &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 AVOCA -- A year from now, airline passengers who travel through the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport could be paying up to $6 more for
their round-trip tickets if federal officials approve an airport request for
surcharge. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The fee, called a "passenger facility charge," would be added to the price
of tickets, and money from the charge would be used for improvements to the
terminal, runways or other facilities, said Barry Centini, the airport
director. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If the Federal Aviation Administration approves the surcharge, the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton airport would join the growing list of regional airports
that have taken advantage of the surcharge since the federal government
allowed airports to begin charging the fee about a year ago. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 FAA spokesman Dick Stafford said he didn't know how many airports were
charging the maximum $3 per flight allowed by the law, but said it was
"numerous." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Money reaped from the charge can only be used "strictly for aviation-type
use." But Stafford said the definition of what that is could be very loose. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Still, the FAA must approve what the money would be used for, and each
traveler can't be charged more than $12 per journey. Approval could take up to
a year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Centini said it could mean an additional $500,000 annually to the airport,
which so far this year has made more than $90,000. The surcharge revenues
could only be used for major improvements, not to pay for day-to-day
operations, Centini said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Meanwhile, pending FAA approval, the airport is planning to spend $108,000
on a five-to-eight-month study to determine if a new terminal is needed to
replace the current 33-year-old structure. Federal money will fund the study,
but a terminal is the type of facility that could be built with income from
the surcharge, Stafford said. About 500,000 passengers pass pass annually
through the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton airport. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A spokesman for Delta Air Lines, which just started service in and out of
the airport a month ago, criticized the facility charge as just another reason
airlines are having such tough times. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We already pay for everything at airports, such as landing rights fees,
etc..., said Bobby Harper, a Delta spokesman in Atlanta. "So it's just another
charge passed off onto the customers." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dave Shipley, a USAir spokesman, said the airlines normally take a
"wait-and-see attitude" when it comes to the surcharge. Each air carrier is
given copies of the application the airports must fill out to seek approval
from the FAA. Stafford said the airlines' views are taken into account before
a decision is made. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At Avoca on Monday, holiday and business travelers were ambivalent about
the possible added charge. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Gary Tucker, heading home to San Diego after spending the Thanksgiving
weekend visiting his parents in Kingston, summed up in a few words what most
of the passengers were saying. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Airline tickets are so expensive to begin with it won't make much
difference," Tucker said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A lot of people don't even realize they are being charged the $3 per
ticket, said one Wilkes-Barre travel agent, who asked not to be identified.
While most people realize there are taxes included in the price, they don't
know exactly what they're for, the travel agent said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The public doesn't even know it's in there," she said. "I don't even tell
them." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Delta spokesman Harper said when people realize just how much they're
paying in the extra charges to fly to their destination, they may opt to stay
on the ground. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's $3 here, $3 there. It kind of adds up after awhile," Harper said.

W-b/scranton Airport Seeks $3 Liftoff Of Ticket Prices 
Passenger Charge Could Help Pay For New Terminal 
******************* 
Photo 
Times Leader/richard Sabatura

W-b/scranton Airport Seeks $3 Liftoff Of Ticket Prices Passenger Charge Could Help Pay For New Terminal ******************* Photo Times Leader/richard Sabatura