Last year's fare special at the Williamsport Regional Airport was so successful, US Airways officials have agreed to once again offer temporary reduced fares at the airport.

Round trip fares of $238 - not including fees and taxes typically tacked onto airline tickets - will be available for flights to nearly all of the 72 cities in the US Airways system, according to airport marketing director David Frey.

According to Frey, tickets must be bought between April 5 and April 30, and travel must be completed by Sept. 29.

One-way tickets also are available at half the price of the round trip tickets, Frey said.

Exceptions include trips ending in Philadelphia, which are $138 for a round trip, and trips ending in western cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Seattle, which are $278 for a round trip, Frey said.

As with last year's reduced fare program, there will be restrictions, including a limited number of available seats on each flight, Frey said.

Travelers should be flexible regarding their departure and return times to ensure getting the reduced fares, he said.

Tickets are non-refundable and there will be a fee to change flight dates after tickets are purchased, he said.

The special applies only to tickets bought on the US Airways Web site, Frey said. Buying tickets at the airport's US Airways counter will cost $45 more; over the phone, $40 more; and through a travel agent, $25 more, he said.

Frey said it "appeared last year's special was a success," though the exact number of travelers who took advantage of the program is not known because the airline did not track them.

However, comparisons to the previous year's passenger volume showed an increase in airport use, he said.

This year the airline will add a code to special-rate tickets to better track the number of people who buy them, he said.

"That will give us a more accurate picture of the success of the sale," he said.

The reduce fared is one of four requests presented to airline officials by Frey, airport executive director Thomas Hart and county Commissioner Rebecca A. Burke during a visit on Feb. 15 to US Airways corporate offices in Phoenix, Frey said.

The airline also was asked to increase round-trip flights to Philadelphia to four flights a day, add another hub destination from Williamsport and increase the size of aircraft serving the airport.

The latter request has been partially granted, he said. For some flights to and from the airport, the airline has used 50-seat aircraft instead of the 37-seat aircraft normally used.

"They told us they would seriously review the other requests," Frey said.

The success of the fare program could influence the airline's decisions regarding the other requests.

"The more people we put through here, the more likely the other requests will come to pass," he said.

Burke gave airline officials a PowerPoint presentation on Marcellus Shale development in the region and its potential impact on air service, Frey said.

"The activity with gas field workers has been strong," he said.