WestAir to Expand East in Acquisition of Feeder Air Routes

Commuter airline WestAir announced today it plans to expand into the Eastern market by the end of the week, picking up several feeder air routes abandoned by another airline.

Mark Peterson, a spokesman for the Fresno-headquartered airline, told a news conference that WestAir will begin flights on Friday linking Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., with five communities in the East.

WestAir currently operates exclusively on the West Coast as a feeder for United Airlines.

He said the new Eastern operation will be carried out under the name Atlantic Coast-United Express.

WestAir became interested in the Eastern feeder routes when Presidential Airways announced in November that it would abandon the routes.