Competition has air fares in a dive
               Ticket discounts up to 63% begin Sunday
     After years of airfares above industry average, McGhee Tyson
 Airport is in the midst of a fare war between a low-fare carrier
 expanding service and major carriers slashing ticket prices to match
 the competition.
     The Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority said Wednesday that
 fare discounts of more than 60 percent will take effect Sunday,
 March 1, for several airlines on their 14-day advance purchase
 tickets. Destinations affected by the discounts include Atlanta,
 Boston, Houston, and Tampa and West Palm Beach, Fla.
     The Airport Authority says two cities frequented most by McGhee
 Tyson passengers, Atlanta and Washington, have seen a drastic drop
 in fares. Past fares to Atlanta have averaged about $148 one way but
 will drop to $49 on March 1.  One-way fares to Washington will go
 down 42 percent from $170 to $99, according to the authority. Those
 headed for Dallas, New Orleans and Philadelphia will see discounts
 ranging from 53 percent to 63 percent.
     Deep fare discounts began when AirTran Airlines entered the
 Knoxville market in 1994 with $79 one-way tickets to Orlando, Fla.
 Since then, AirTran has merged with ValuJet and is expanding service
 into markets served by that Atlanta-based, low-fare carrier.
     "To compete with that, the other airlines have tried to match
 those prices," said Becky McCroskey, Airport Authority spokeswoman.
 "It's important we support any low-fare carrier in the area. We do
 attribute the growth to the low fares that came through AirTran. We
 don't know if we would have seen these low fares if it hadn't been
 for AirTran."
     The low-fare carrier expected major carriers to discount Knox-
 ville fares, according to AirTran spokeswoman Lori LeRoy, who said
 larger airlines -- including Delta, United, Northwest, TWA and US
 Airways -- can't match the fares AirTran charges for last-minute or
 walk-up passengers.
     AirTran's most expensive ticket out of McGhee Tyson is a $149
 one-way walk-up fare to Atlanta, according to LeRoy. Major carriers
 have charged about $280 for a similar ticket.
     "What sets us apart is that we have more seats available at low
 fares, and they are virtually unable to compete with us on a walk-up
 basis," LeRoy said.
     Twenty-three destinations from Knoxville will have discounted
 fares. Here are some examples of one-way fares:
   Destination       Old fare   New
   Boston            $200.50    $109
   Dallas/Fort Worth $236.50    $109
   Fort Lauderdale   $119       $109
   Houston           $232.50    $109
   New Orleans       $215       $79
   New York          $89        $79
   Raleigh/Durham    $163.50    $99
   Tampa, Fla.       $119       $89
   Philadelphia      $215       $99
 While low fares are a healthy sign of competition at McGhee Tyson,
 airport authority officials are concerned major airlines could
 undercut low fare carriers, forcing cutbacks in service, then
 prompting a return to higher fares.
     The traveling public, business leaders, U.S. airports and local
 governments are pressuring Congress to take action against perceived
 predatory pricing by major airlines.
     "Any regional airline like AirTran has an uphill battle when
 they try to establish low-fare air service in a smaller regional
 hub like Knoxville," said Mark Neuhart, vice president of corporate
 communications for the airport authority. "At the present time
 throughout the airline industry it's not a level playing field
 between the low-fare carriers and the major carriers."
     Neuhart said the Department of Transportation will begin inves-
 tigations in March into alleged predatory practices by larger air-
 lines at airports such as McGhee Tyson.
    AirTran last year had to win federal Department of Transportation
 approval to fly from Knoxville to New York's LaGuardia Airport,
 whose arrival and departure slots are controlled by major airlines.
 AirTran is seeking similar federal permission to fly from Knoxville
 to Washington National Airport.
     AirTran's two daily flights from McGhee Tyson to LaGuardia are
 averaging about 20 passengers each and must attract more passengers
 to be profitable, according to Neuhart.
      Knoxville News Sentinel 26 Feb 98
 ------------------------------------------------------------------
 Airplane passenger gets six months in prison for joking about bomb
     DAYTON, Ohio - Feb 25, 1998 8:48 p.m. EST -- A man who forced a
 jet to make an emergency landing when he joked about having explo-
 sives on board was sentenced to six months in prison on Wednesday.
     Richard Josephson, 38, of Elsmere, Del., pleaded guilty in De-
 cember to communicating information endangering the safety of an
 aircraft. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors recommended he
 receive no more than six months.
     U.S. District Court Judge Walter Rice said there was "nothing
 funny at all" about causing a plane to make an emergency landing.
     Rice also ordered Josephson to reimburse USAir the $40,653 the
 airline spent on the emergency landing and evacuating passengers.
     Josephson said he was joking when he claimed he had explosives
 in his carry-on bag aboard USAir Flight 17 on Oct. 13, 1996. The
 plane carrying 109 passengers and crew members was en route from
 Philadelphia to Los Angeles. It made an emergency landing at Dayton
 International Airport.
     No explosives were found.
 ===
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