U.S. Airways to offer daily nonstop flights from Bangor to Philadelphia

Starting March 25, US Airways will offer daily nonstop flights between Bangor International Airport and Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va., as well as additional nonstop flights between Bangor and Philadelphia, BIA Director Rebecca Hupp announced Wednesday.This is a very significant development for the airport and it’s literally been years in the making,said Hupp. “The last time the airport had nonstop flights to Washington D.C. was when Pan Am flew Bangor to Baltimore, and that service was sporadic.

US Airways now operates three daily flights from Bangor to Philadelphia and has offered only weekend service to Washington, one of its primary hubs, for the last year. With the changes taking effect in late March, there will be one additional outgoing flight and one additional incoming flight between BIA and Philadelphia each day, as well as two outgoing flights and two incoming flights daily between Bangor and Washington D.C.It certainly will give people more alternatives for choices on connections, said Hupp.I think people will be very excited about it and it’s something many customers have asked about over the years.

I am pleased to learn US Airways will be expanding its service from Bangor International Airport to both the Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia areas, U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said in a statement. “The addition of these flight options will improve access for Mainers and visitors alike to destinations across the country and around the globe.Hupp said the expansion was made possible by recent Federal Aviation Administration approval of a slot transaction agreement between US Airways and Delta Air Lines.We’ve been positioning ourselves to get one of those flights for a while now,said Hupp.In exchange for landing rights at LaGuardia in New York, Delta gave landing rights at National Airport in D.C.. US Airways had more slots available in D.C. and Delta had more slots in LaGuardia.

That means US Airways will cease its LaGuardia air service from Bangor on March 25.The additional daily service designated Flight 3888 between BIA and Philadelphia will use 50-seat CRJ-200 regional jet aircraft operated by US Airways Express partner Air Wisconsin. A flight will depart Philadelphia at 3:45 p.m. and arrive in Bangor at 5:21 p.m. A flight will depart Bangor at 6:11 p.m. and arrive in Philadelphia at 7:55 p.m.The flights to and from Reagan National Airport in Washington also will be on Air Wisconsin CRJ-200 airplanes and will follow a daily schedule:

• Flight 3806 from Washington to Bangor departs at 10 p.m. and arrives at 11:45 p.m.

• Flight 3884 from Washington to Bangor departs at 10:05 a.m. and arrives at 11:54 a.m.

• Flight 3887 from Bangor to Washington departs at 8:59 a.m. and arrives at 11 a.m.

• Flight 3779 from Bangor to Washington departs at 12:20 p.m. and arrives at 2:18 p.m.

US Airways operates more than 3,000 flights per day worldwide and services more than 200 communities.

Ticket prices for the new flights were not immediately available.