June 19, 2001
 
 ENDING the geographic isolation of Maryland's swath of Appalachia is costly but essential. Without solid transportation links to the Baltimore-Washington region, companies are reluctant to locate in Western Maryland's Garrett, Allegany and Washington counties.
 
 The completion of the National Freeway (Interstate 68) greatly enhanced east-west connections by car and truck. Now the state is reestablishing airline links to the area's biggest cities, Cumberland and Hagerstown.
 
 Thanks to a $2.25 million subsidy, daily flights will resume between those cities and Baltimore-Washington International Airport. For the past four years, the only Western Maryland flights took passengers to Pittsburgh. That connection is imperiled by USAirways' survival struggles.
 
 Most business and pleasure travelers, though, want to fly in and out of BWI. Now is their chance to prove it by taking advantage of the $125 round-trip fares (only $65 round-trip from Cumberland to Hagerstown). The flights will begin in Cumberland, stop in Hagerstown for more passengers and then proceed to Baltimore.
 
 High passenger demand is the key. It could lead to more daily flights and direct Cumberland-to-BWI service. The break-even point is an average of 14 passengers a flight on the 19-passenger turboprop planes operated by Boston-Maine Airways.
 
 As usual, the prime promoter of this Western Maryland venture was House Speaker Casper R. Taylor. He worked with the Maryland Aviation Administration's David Blackshear to convince officials that air routes to isolated cities are the equivalent of a flying bus, just as deserving of a state subsidy as mass transit.
 
 With proper promotion, these three daily flights (plus two on weekends) could soar in popularity. They might even prove persuasive in getting companies to bring jobs to those friendly, low-cost mountain communities.
 
 
 
 
 
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