LITTLE ROCK — Direct flights to D.C.
set in NW Arkansas
US Airways said Wednesday that beginning July 11 it will offer daily nonstop service between Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Highfill and Washington Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.
Flights from Northwest Arkansas will be scheduled to depart at 4:25 p.m.
and arrive at 8:04 p.m.
Flights from Reagan National will be scheduled to depart at 1:50 p.m. and arrive at Northwest Arkansas at 3:44 p.m.
The company said the flights are part of the final step in its plan to focus on its core service areas of Washington, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Charlotte. No other carriers operating at Northwest Arkansas Regional provide flights destined for Washington’s downtown airport.
US Airways subsidiary PSA Airlines will operate the service between Northwest Arkansas and Washington with 50-seat Canadair Regional Jet aircraft.
Women-owned firms grow by 49% in state
Arkansas has 63,800 companies owned by women, an increase of 49 percent over the past 15 years, according to a study commissioned by American Express OPEN.
The number of womenowned businesses in the U.S has grown by 54 percent since 1997. Arkansas is ranked 23rd in the nation in growth and 23rd in increasing firm revenue for the period, according to the report released Wednesday.
The number of employees at women-owned businesses in Arkansas dropped 4.6 percent during the same period, from 64,379 in 1997 to 61,400 in 2012, making the state one of 10 where employment declined. The total sales for those firms increased from $6.5 billion to $10.8 billion, a 66.7 percent gain and more than the national average of 57.7 percent for the period.
The State of Women-Owned Business Report is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau from 1997 with 2012 figures estimated. The report was prepared by Womenable, a research, program and policy development consulting firm.
Car-Mart climb leads state index to 234.26
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, rose 0.13 to 234.26 on Wednesday.
Ten stocks declined, five advanced and one was unchanged.
America’s Car-Mart climbed 1.7 percent in light trading.
USA Truck dropped 1.5 percent with only 847 shares traded.
Bank of the Ozarks, Dillard’s and Home Banc-Shares traded within 50 cents of their 52-week high.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 21 on 03/22/2012