Reply #36: Rebuttal

[DulceDecorum]

Lonestar,
you are one of the very few people who has EVER caused me to retact a statement I have made here on the Democratic Underground.
This occured when you pointed out a few details about the N-number numerals of the American Airlines weird BTS ID code. I had mistakenly assumed that the AA numerals matched up to the FAA numbers. This is not so. The AA numerals on their BTS data are all just as suspect as their letters. And I do not know HOW AA is permitted to get away with submitting such crap to a federal agency.
As a matter of fact, I am still wading through statistics trying to compile an accurate portrayal of the actual FAA N-numbers linked to the weird AA codes on the flights of September 11. And I have taken so much asprin for that headache that I might have even have accquired hemophilia.
So when you posted your views on the Portland to Boston flights, I took more care than usual before replying.

I stand by what I have said.
This does not however, diminish my respect for you in any way whatsoever.
I can agree to disagree.

Lonestar says:
"We had established that Atta had left on Flight 4637 aboard N313(AE?)"
No you, Dulce, established that Atta flew on American Eagle.

The day the unthinkable struck at America's heart
FT correspondents recount the terrorism nightmare that fell over America
Published: September 14 2001 20:22GMT | Last Updated: March 4 2002 17:59GMT
.....It was still dark on Tuesday morning when two men of Middle Eastern origin pulled their silver Nissan Altima rental car into the Jetport in the small coastal city of Portland, Maine. Casually dressed, they lit cigarettes for a last smoke in the parking lot before entering the terminal.
Inside, they checked their luggage; one of the bags - bearing a tag with the passenger's name in Arabic - held a how-to-fly manual, a fuel-consumption calculator and a copy of the Koran. Despite a clear sky, the 5:45 AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT FROM PORTLAND was slightly delayed. Not until 6:00am did the men board the plane for the one-hour trip to Boston.
http://specials.ft.com/aoa/FT3L489HRRC.html

The Financial Times says:
Despite a clear sky, the 5:45 AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT FROM PORTLAND was slightly delayed. Not until 6:00am did the men board the plane for the one-hour trip to Boston.
Since American Eagle is a subsidiary of American Airlines,
that statement is not incorrect.
Please note that the Financial Times published that report within three days of the attacks. It has taken DulceDecorum over two years to independently verify that statement as fact.

LoneStar says:
"Mr. Atta was supposed to be aboard Colgan Air Flight 5930. But instead we have narrowed it down to American Eagle 4757."
Mr. Atta WAS onboard Colgan Air Flight 5930 operating as a US Airways Express flight. It was you, Dulce, who narrowed it down to him being on an American Eagle flight (in spite of several accounts from the media which identify it as a Colgan Airways/US Airways Express flight) simply because you can't find any Colgan Air flights out of Portland listed on the Bureau of Transportation's website. (They're not)
.... Because Colgan Airways is a separate company from US Airways. Colgan Airways operates the flights from Portland to Boston FOR US Airways operating as US Airways Express.

Colgan Air and US Airways have a VERY close relationship.
The two companies are so very close that there is virtually no real separation between them.


Let us closely examine the company known as Colgan Air.

Colgan Air dba US Airways Express
Regional airline providing service to more than 30 cities on the east coast.
US Airways
Convenient airline service to 189 destinations throughout North America, the Caribbean and Europe.
http://www.visitportland.com/airtravel.aspx
As far as I have been able to determine, Colgan has never offered a Portland to Boston non-stop flight.
One has always had to make a connection in LaGuardia, Pittsburgh or Dulles or elsewhere. Since Colgan Air is the only US Express carrier working the Portland-Boston route, this does not bode well for the Atta/Alomari story.

US Airways announced that Colgan Air, a small commuter airline based in Manassas, Va., will begin operating as a US Airways Express regional carrier effective Dec. 11 (1999). With the addition of Colgan Air, US Airways will begin offering nonstop flights between Washington Dulles International Airport and two West Virginia cities, Beckley and Bluefield. Colgan Air also will offer new service to Rutland, Vt., and three Maine cities: Augusta, Bar Harbor and Rockland. The New England cities will be served by connecting flights through Boston.
http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/19...
There is no mention of Portland, Maine.

Today Colgan Air has a highly successful operation as a US Airways code-sharing partner, operating a fleet of 15 Beech 1900s and seven Saab 340s.
Charles (Chuck) Colgan started the original Colgan Air in 1970, operating out of Manassas Airport in Virginia. By 1986 he was operating nine aircraft to 18 cities from Washington's National and Dulles airports. That year he sold the airline to Presidential, one of the many "up-start" airlines following deregulation that survived only a few years before closing down. In 1991, Colgan resurrected the airline with a single Beech 1900, as well as a contract with IBM to serve as a corporate shuttle for its employees.
It initially signed a code-share agreement with Continental, but was unable to grow under the restrictions of the agreement. In 1999 it signed it current agreement with US Airways.
The Colgan Air operations include service as an Essential Air Service (EAS) provider to seven small communities, and the Colgans are very actively involved in supporting the EAS program.
http://www.aviationtoday.com/reports/awards2003.htm

Airport officials had hoped to receive the essential air service grant to bring in Colgan Air of Virginia, another US Airways Express contractor, to replace Chautauqua on June 1. Chautauqua offers three daily flights to Pittsburgh on 30-passenger turbo-propeller planes.
http://specter.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Articles...

Colgan Air, which contracts with US Airways Express, announced in January it
was leaving. It was the only airline to serve the (Lancaster, PA) airport, with three
flights to and from Pittsburgh each day.
Colgan Air's departure eliminated about 20 jobs, including airline staff and
government security personnel.
http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg26575...

Friday, May 4, 2001
Colgan relies on a $2.54 million federal subsidy to help provide service to
airports in Augusta, Rockland, Bar Harbor and Rutland, Vt. The company's
approximate share of governmental financial aid for the Augusta flights is
$634,000.
McGee said the Bush plan seeks to change mileage guidelines used to decide
how money is distributed. If an airport, such as Augusta's, is within 70
miles of a "small hub" airport, such as Portland's, the subsidy would be
eliminated.
The federal Essential Air Service program, which administers the payouts,
places Augusta at 68 miles from the Portland airport. But the Maine
Department of Transportation, which owns the city-managed Augusta airport,
has determined that the combined Augusta/Waterville service area is 76 miles
from the Portland airport, which still should qualify Colgan for continued
Augusta subsidies.
http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg14841...

Edwards said Colgan's notice of termination starts a process that will line up either another carrier to serve Lebanon Municipal Airport without a subsidy or a carrier that will do it for a government subsidy of up to $200 per passenger. Currently, 114 airports are subsidized through the Essential Air Service program. Edwards said Colgan Air provides subsidized service in several communities, including Rutland, Vt.
http://www.vnews.com/04012003/1018920.htm

Colgan Air, a family-operated subcontractor for US Airways Express, identified the pilots as Scott Knabe, 39, of Cincinnati, and Steven Dean, 38, of Euless, Texas. Both were based in Hyannis.
<snip>
It was apparently the first fatal crash for the airline, founded by Colgan, a Democratic state senator from Virginia who is up for re-election in November. Calls to his home were not returned. His son, Mike, the company's president, issued a statement mourning the pilots, whom he called "well-respected and well-liked crewmembers." There have been two minor accidents involving Colgan flights, according to the NTSB, which did not involve serious injuries.
On May 21, a Colgan Saab 340B plane was substantially damaged when it was struck by another airplane while taxiing at LaGuardia Airport in New York, injuring a flight attendant. And in 2001, a Colgan Beech 1900 was damaged when it hit a deer after landing in Bar Harbor, Maine.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2003/08/27/2_... /
http://www.aswata.co.id/index.php?op=article_view&id_ne...

As you can see,
Colgan Air is eager to receive subsidies from the US federal government for flights into underpopulated areas.
Having a Virginia Senator as founder of the airline must have been very beneficial to the bottom line of Colgan Air.
Two hundred US dollars per seat per trip, is not too shabby, especially when one considers what the competition is doing to depress the price per seat on more popular routes.
See: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=+site...
See: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=+site...

Let us closely examine the entity known as US Airways Express.

US Airways Group, Inc. (US Airways Group) is a holding company whose operations consist of two main segments, US Airways, Inc. (US Airways) and US Airways Express. US Airways is the main operating arm of US Airways Group. Ten regional carriers provide commuter service under code share agreements with US Airways to operate under the trade name "US Airways Express." Seven of these carriers, CCAir, Chatauqua Airlines, Mesa Airlines, Trans States Airlines, Air Midwest, Colgan Airlines and Shuttle America are independently owned.
<snip>
US Airways "markets the operation of the various Express carriers as one seamless transportation system." US Airways Express customers call the US Airways reservation number or visit the US Airways website to make a reservation.
AFA states:
Only when actually examining the available flights on the computer screen from which to choose is the customer informed that the specific flight is operated by US Airways Express, then finally by the name of the individual carrier.
"All reservations for the flights of the Carriers are provided by contract with US Airways." Since the Carriers do not maintain independent reservations systems, "without the US Airways reservations system, they would be unable to book any passengers." Express carrier tickets are printed on US Airways stock.
http://www.nmb.gov/representation/deter2002/29n026.html

Take a good look at those last two statements.
SINCE THE CARRIERS DO NOT MAINTAIN INDEPENDENT RESERVATIONS SYSTEMS, WITHOUT THE US AIRWAYS RESERVATIONS SYSTEM, THEY WOULD BE UNABLE TO BOOK ANY PASSENGERS.
EXPRESS CARRIER TICKETS ARE PRINTED ON US AIRWAYS STOCK.
Well, that just about wraps it up.
There is NO WAY that Mr. Whoever-he-was could have boarded a Colgan Air flight WITHOUT having involved US Airways Express.

US Airways Express has its own trademark and logo. The Express carriers' aircraft are all painted the same (navy blue top with a grey belly).
AFA states:
The only method by which one may visibly determine which Express carrier company operates a specific individual aircraft is to closely examine a small 6 x 8 inch corporate logo found to the right of the passenger entry door on the exterior sidewall of the aircraft. Notwithstanding this small identification, the US Airways Express logo and livery predominates.
The US Airways inflight magazine "Attache" is placed in the seat pocket on all Express carriers' aircraft, yet the magazine does not identify the individual Express carrier operating the flight. AFA also states that US Airways Express passengers are eligible to accrue frequent flyer miles in the US Airways "Dividend Preferred" program.
The Crew Rest/Lounge facilities are the same for all the Express carriers. "The public contact employees of the Express carriers also wear identical uniforms tailored to their particular job function." The only way to tell which Express carrier employs an individual is to look at the employee's identification card.
Ground operations on the Express carriers are integrated and the ticket and gate counters at airports served by the Express carriers are identified as "US Airways Express." The individual Express carriers are not listed by name anywhere in any of the airports served by US Airways.
http://www.nmb.gov/representation/deter2002/29n026.html

US Aiways Express carriers use US Airways Gates. The carriers do not have any Gates of their own. Once the relationship with the carrier and US Airways ends, then that carrier may no longer use US airways Gates. Colgan Air therefore MUST have left Portland via a US Airways Gate.
See: http://www.portlandjetport.org/inside-terminal.asp

Pursuant to marketing agreements, US Airways handles the advertising for all 10 Express carriers. In addition, US Airways approves the schedules for all US Airways Express service and US Airways Express flight schedules are published in the US Airways' System Timetable. However, all Express carriers are identified by name in the System Timetable and on the US Airways reservations website. Each Express carrier has its own unique range of flight numbers.
US Airways Express has its own trademark and logo. "Because more than one US Airways Express carrier may operate from any given airport, the ticket and gate counters display the US Airways Express logo, and do not distinguish the individual Express carriers by name." The Express carrier's aircraft is painted with the US Airways colors and carries the name "US Airways Express" and the name and/or logo of the individual Express carrier providing the service. Allegheny, Piedmont and PSA each have their own websites, publications, and business cards that identify the individual "operating carrier's trademark and/or logo."
http://www.nmb.gov/representation/deter2002/29n026.html

As far as I have been able to determine, there is not enough traffic out of Portland Jetport to justify the use of more than one US Express carrier. What is also curious is that fact that there does not appear to be ANY US Express non-stop flights from Portland Jetport to Boston.

City Airline Daily Departures
Albany: Continental 4
Atlanta: Delta 2
Boston: Delta 5
Chicago: (O'Hare) American Eagle 2 / United Express 3
Cincinnati: Delta 2
Detroit: Northwest 2
Minneapolis: Northwest 2
NY LaGuardia: American Eagle 2 / Delta 3 / US Airways 4
NY Newark: Continental 3
Philadelphia: US Airways 5
Pittsburgh: US Airways 2
Washington Dulles: United Express 4 / Indepedence Air 6
Washington National: US Airways 3
http://www.portlandjetport.org/Dailty-Route.asp

It must be pointed out however, that this is the system in 2004 and things might have been different in 2001. If anyone has any information demonstrating that US Express/Colgan Air was indeed operating a Portland-Boston flight in 2001, please step forward. Boston FBI need not apply.

Marketing and Advertising
US Airways approves the schedules for all 10 Express carriers. US Airways determines the city pairs each Express carrier flies, taking into account market factors. Occasionally, US Airways will reallocate a city pair from one Express carrier to another. The Express carrier's flight schedules are published in US Airways' System Timetable and are identified by specific flight numbers.
When a customer makes a reservation on the US Airways website, the Express carrier is identified to the customer.
According to Hanley,


ursuant to its marketing agreements with its ten Express carriers, US Airways handles all advertising, distributes flight schedules and handles the Express carriers' promotions and ticket sales functions. In return, the Express carriers adhere to certain US Airways expectations and guidelines for the performance of air transportation services under the US Airways Express brand name.
A. Scheduling
The Express carriers' flight schedules are integrated and published as part of the US Airways system schedule and the individual city schedules. The Express carriers do not publish a separate schedule. The US Airways logo appears on the heading of each schedule on the website. When a customer books a reservation on the US Airways website, and the customer will be flying an Express carrier, the itinerary identifies the carrier as follows: "Flight: US Airways Express flight 3436 operated by US AIRWAYS EXPRESS-PIEDMONT AIRLINES".
If a customer selects the "more information" icon on the itinerary on the website, the flight is identified as a US Airways Express flight and lists the flight number. Further exploration on the website allows the customer to learn about the Express carriers.
The website states,
US Airways Express is a network of ten regional airlines operating under a code share and service agreement with US Airways. This service offers travelers frequent, well-timed flights to US Airways hub airports and cities throughout the U.S., Canada and the Bahamas. Like US Airways, we provide many important benefits, including the convenience of through fares, checked baggage, assigned seating and advance boarding passes. Plus every flight earns a minimum of 500 Dividend Miles for free travel to more than 500 destinations worldwide. More importantly, we provide customers with the same high level of service and reliability they receive on all US Airways flights.
B. Ticketing
Tickets for the Express carriers are printed on US Airways ticket stock.
C. Reservations
Reservations for the Express carriers are centrally handled by US Airways. A customer making a reservation by computer visits the US Airways website. After selecting the departure and arrival city, a list of options appears on the screen. When an Express carrier is listed as an option, it is listed as, "Flight: US Airways Express flight 3740 operated by US AIRWAYS EXPRESS-ALLEGHENY AIRLINES on a DeHavilland Dash 8."
D. Signs and Logos
US Airways Express has its own trademark and logo. The ticket and gate counters display the US Airways Express logo and do not identify the individual Express carriers. The Express carrier's planes are painted with the same color scheme as the US Airways planes (navy blue top with a grey belly). The planes have the name "US Airways Express" on the exterior and the name and/or logo of the Express carrier operating the flight, located on the passenger doorways of the airplane.
VI. Uniforms
All Express carrier employees wear uniforms approved by US Airways.
http://www.nmb.gov/representation/deter2002/29n026.html

Lonestar says:
Colgan Airways is not required to report their on-time statistics to the BTS. That doesn't mean they don't operate the flights, however. Frontier Airlines, with a hub in Denver, is much larger than Colgan and they don't report on-time stats to the bts either.

Lonestar is absolutely correct.
I have said it before and I will say it again.
ALL of the planes involved in the events of September 11, 2001 were CODESHARE.

A code-share flight is one airline sells tickets under its name for a flight operated by a partner airline. A passenger may find, for instance, that their Continental flight to Phoneix is in fact an America West code share flight with America West flight crew on an America West aircraft.
http://www.ityt.com/library/fom-serve/cache/121.html
http://www.aeroseek.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=86

Waiting in a concourse in Boston one night, a woman walked up to me in a state of obvious fluster trying to find her flight. She was traveling to Amsterdam, she told me, on KLM, and couldn't find her gate. I asked to see her ticket, which sure enough was emblazoned with the familiar powder blue livery of the Dutch airline. The most obvious problem here, though, is that KLM doesn't fly to Boston and never has, despite large lighted signs and announcements on the inter-terminal bus to the contrary. "No," I explained. "You're actually flying on Northwest." Complicating things was the fact her flight operated under two different flight numbers, one each for KLM and Northwest.
Welcome to the world of code-shares, alliances, and partnerships.
http://www.salon.com/tech/col/smith/2002/08/30/askthepi...

In the case of Colgan Air, the ONLY flight numbers availible to it are the assigned US Express Flight numbers. There are NO other numbers.
Colgan Air’s designated US Airways Express flight number range is 5900-5999.
http://www.mpdcltd.com/Colganfact.html
This agrees with the information we have been given by the Boston FBI
who have caused to waste a great deal of time trying to locate
US Airways Express flight 5930 operated by US AIRWAYS EXPRESS-COLGAN AIR.

US Airways is required to report to the BTS and a look at the BTS database demonstrates that US Airways is indeed reporting US Airways Express flights out of Portland Jetport.
That being the case, let us examine all the flights out of Prtland Jetport on September 11, 2001.

Departure Statistic(s): Scheduled Departure Time,Actual Departure Time
Airport(s): PWM
Airline(s): US
Month(s): September
Day(s): 11
Year(s): 2001
Airport: Portland, ME - Portland International Jetport (PWM)
AMERICAN EAGLE
MQ, 09/11/2001, 4396, UNKNOW, ORD, 7:25, 0:00
MQ, 09/11/2001, 4400, UNKNOW, ORD, 14:20, 0:00
MQ, 09/11/2001, 4466, UNKNOW, LGA, 11:00, 0:00
MQ, 09/11/2001, 4482, UNKNOW, LGA, 13:35, 0:00
MQ, 09/11/2001, 4488, N739MQ, LGA, 6:00, 6:00
MQ, 09/11/2001, 4494, UNKNOW, LGA, 15:45, 0:00
MQ, 09/11/2001, 4496, UNKNOW, LGA, 19:50, 0:00
MQ, 09/11/2001, 4563, UNKNOW, BOS, 11:15, 0:00
MQ, 09/11/2001, 4637, N266MQ, BOS, 5:30, 5:28
MQ, 09/11/2001, 4757, N313MQ, BOS, 6:45, 6:48
MQ, 09/11/2001, 4874, UNKNOW, BOS, 14:25, 0:00
MQ, 09/11/2001, 4882, UNKNOW, BOS, 15:00, 0:00
MQ, 09/11/2001, 4889, UNKNOW, BOS, 18:10, 0:00
MQ, 09/11/2001, 4899, UNKNOW, BOS, 9:30, 0:00
MQ, 09/11/2001, 4920, UNKNOW, BOS, 12:20, 0:00
DELTA AIRLINES
DL, 09/11/2001, 0321, N908DL, CVG, 5:55, 5:53
DL, 09/11/2001, 0391, N914DL, ATL, 13:45, 0:00
DL, 09/11/2001, 0647, N924DL, CVG, 17:35, 0:00
DL, 09/11/2001, 0825, N912DL, CVG, 9:05, 0:00
DL, 09/11/2001, 1149, N983DL, ATL, 7:40, 7:39
NORTHWEST AIRLINES
NW, 09/11/2001, 1827, N610NW, DTW, 16:05, 0:00
NW, 09/11/2001, 1851, N1332U, DTW, 8:30, 8:24
US AIRWAYS
US, 09/11/2001, 0299, UNKNOW, PHL, 15:35, 0:00
US, 09/11/2001, 0680, N590US, PHL, 5:55, 5:47
US, 09/11/2001, 0856, UNKNOW, PIT, 13:45, 0:00
US, 09/11/2001, 0993, UNKNOW, PHL, 11:35, 0:00
US, 09/11/2001, 1211, N435US, PIT, 6:35, 6:29
US, 09/11/2001, 1479, UNKNOW, PIT, 18:00, 0:00
US, 09/11/2001, 2161, N420US, PHL, 7:30, 7:28
UNITED AIRLINES
UA, 09/11/2001, 1069, UNKNOW, ORD, 17:08, 0:00
UA, 09/11/2001, 1725, N324UA, ORD, 6:50, 6:52

Oh dear.
US Airways Express had no scheduled flights to Boston out of Portland Jetport on September 11, 2001.
What in tarnation was going on there at 5.53AM?
These are the ONLY three flights that left Portland Jetport from the US Airways Express terminal.

US, 09/11/2001, 0680, N590US, PHL, Scheduled 5:55, Actual 5:47
US, 09/11/2001, 1211, N435US, PIT, Scheduled 6:35, Actual 6:29
US, 09/11/2001, 2161, N420US, PHL, Scheduled 7:30, Actual 7:28
Which brings us right back to Square One.
HOW did Atta get to Logan International?
And
WHERE is Boston FBI getting its "intelligence?"