COLUMBUS (December 19, 2001) — Governor Bob Taft today appealed to President George W. Bush and talked to U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, asking for their support in helping America West Airlines secure loan guarantees from the U.S. government. The Taft administration has been in contact with senior officials of the Bush administration to express the importance of the airline to Ohio. Secretary O’Neill is chairman of the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, which is responsible for making a decision about the loan guarantees. The Board was formed after September 11th to administer $10 billion in loan guarantees. “America West is extremely important to the Central Ohio economy as the only airline hub operating in the region,” Taft wrote in a letter to President Bush. “The airline was poised to expand its operations in Columbus prior to the September 11th terrorist attacks. Furthermore, airline experts report that if the America West hub no longer operates, it is extremely unlikely that another carrier will replace them.” The airline has helped increase air service at Port Columbus International Airport since it established a hub in 1991. In Ohio, America West employs 350 people and offers 44 daily departures to 15 nonstop destinations. Nationally, America West employs more than 14,000 people and indirectly affects another 26,000 workers. It is the third largest carrier of passenger traffic between the Northeast and West Coast and transports more than 20 million passengers every year. “Your Administration and Congress acted swiftly by providing among other recovery tools, government guaranteed loans for those airlines experiencing financial problems compounded by the attacks,” Taft wrote. “In order to maintain a viable, competitive airline industry, I believe all aspects of the stabilization package must be made available to those carriers, such as America West, demonstrating a need for assistance.”