
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, October 20, 1995                   TAG: 9510200046
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THINK ALLURE, NOT CHEAP FARES

With the launch in January of Continental Express flights between Roanoke and New York, travelers can expect a local airline fare war.

The prediction came Thursday from John Dalton, a national air travel consultant.

But residents should be more interested in how they can use the Roanoke Valley's transportation resources to draw tourists here, rather than in cheap tickets out of town, said Dalton, who was training manager for Trans World Airlines in Kansas City before he became a Pittsburgh-based business consultant. He also is former national director of sales and marketing for the American Automobile Association.

Dalton spoke Thursday to travel-industry customers and guests at a luncheon at the Radisson Patrick Henry Hotel held by Martin Travel of Roanoke.

The tourism industry, which is second behind health care in nationwide employment, holds much potential for the Roanoke Valley, Dalton said, adding that residents may take the beauty of the surrounding mountains for granted. "As a community, you should be concerned about `How do I get [the tourists] here?''' he said.

Dalton criticized people who drive to other cities to catch flights. That kind of behavior helps drive up local ticket costs, he said.

In an era of airline deregulation, Roanoke can have the kind of air service it wants, Dalton said. The city is just the kind of place that no-frills airlines such as Southwest Airlines and ValuJet want to serve, providing connections to larger cities, he said.

Dalton said he doubts USAir Group Inc. will survive on its own. Of two possible buyers that have recently been mentioned for USAir - United and American airlines - United is the probable winner, he predicted. United and USAir already are partners in an automated reservation system, and the routes of the two airlines overlap only 2 percent of the time, he said.

Roanoke Valley residents should not fear the loss of USAir, because if the airline does pull out, another will take its place, he said. "The airline industry is like water: As soon as it finds an opening, the water seeps in," he said.

And as the nation's population moves to smaller communities, such as Roanoke, the airlines will be there to serve them, he said.

Continental Express, the regional carrier for Houston-based Continental Airlines, said Monday it will offer four nonstop flights daily between Roanoke and Newark International Airport, just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, starting Jan. 8.

by CNB