JetBlue Profits On Boston-Philadelphia Route

English: MARIE BALLARD IS THE SOLE OWNER OF NASDAQ OMX Group CA CODES[ELEC 8020-8028MHT.125578970752 0208 A7600732 |NASDAQ OMX Group]] Category:Airline logos (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s tough to make money at another airline’s international-flight hub, but JetBlue Airways is doing just that on the popular Philadelphia–Boston route.

JetBlue, Boston’s largest airline with 125 daily flights, has succeeded where three other carriers did not: making a profit and winning over travelers with cheaper fares and in-flight amenities on a 300-mile trip on which US Airways long had a lock.

US Airways, with a hub in Philadelphia, has 19 nonstop flights on peak weekdays from Philadelphia to Boston.

JetBlue’s arrival in May with five daily Boston nonstops immediately lowered airfares, once as high as $800 round-trip on US Airways, to $55 to $154 one-way on Jet Blue, depending on the day and time of travel.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/transportation/20140205_JetBlue_profits_on_Boston-Phila__route.html#3zudCRGpPAqpmMmJ.99

PA Attorney General Charges 16 In Drug Ring

HARRISBURG, PA — A Luzerne County man was charged Thursday in connection with a drug trafficking ring being prosecuted by state Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s office.

A grand jury determined evidence is sufficient to charge Darryl Elliot, 27, of South Grant Street, Wilkes-Barre, and 15 others with drug trafficking and conspiracy.

Of those charged, Juan Carlos Alvarez, was already serving time in Lackawanna County Correctional Facility. The grand jury found Alvarez supplied other suspects with drugs from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico to be distributed in New York City and Pennsylvania. Thirteen suspects are from Northumberland County.

Prosecutors do not know where one suspect, Joseph Galgocy, is from, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office.

Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/news/845389/AG-charges-16-in-drug-ring

Poverty In Reading Worsens, Census Says

English: Downtown Reading, Pennsylvania; with Berks County courthouse on left; July 2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Reading’s poverty rate worsened in 2012, making it the second most impoverished city in the country behind Detroit.

The percent of city residents in poverty increased from 40.1 to 40.5, according to statistics released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

That’s less than the 41.3 percent of Reading residents who were in poverty in 2010 when Reading had a higher percentage of residents in poverty than any other U.S. city with 65,000 or more people.

But hope for Reading still exists, said Jane Palmer, principal author and coordinator of the 65-page 2011 report of the Rebuilding Reading Poverty Commission.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=512690

Lehigh Valley International Airport To Have International Flights

Aerial photo of Lehigh Valley International Airport (IATA: ABE, ICAO: KABE) in Hanover Township, 2005 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For the first time, Lehigh Valley International Airport passengers could soon be taking direct flights to places like Mexico, Puerto Rico and Jamaica.

The authority that runs the cash-strapped and passenger-starved airport Tuesday endorsed a $5 million plan to add a U.S. Customs station that would allow LVIA to have flights out of the country as early as 2014.

Embarking on a multimillion-dollar project will not be easy for the struggling airport.  But the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority supported a plan to accept a $1.5 million state grant and take out loans for $3.5 million to build an inspection station.

The board believes the station will keep thousands of fliers a year from using other airports to go to places like Cancun, San Juan and Montego Bay.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-allentown-abe-airport-international-20121218,0,4105822.story