JetAmerica -- one plane, $1.4 million in grants makes an airline
Filed under: Transportation, Travel
Take a dollop of recession, a healthy spoonful of declining air passenger numbers, add the scent of prior failure and what do you get? A new airline.
Some of the people behind the recently folded Skybus are back with JetAmerica, a new regional airline that will serve a few towns in the Great Lakes area and cherry-pick a couple of longer routes.
The new air carrier will operate out of the Toledo (Ohio) Express Airport, thanks to a $600,000 grant from the city and additional money chipped in by other destinations to a total of $1.4 million.
Borrowing a PR stunt from Skybus, JetAmerica will offer nine seats per flight for $9 per. Fares will top out at $199 for a one-way ticket, although it will tack on extra charges such as a $10 booking fee.
Cities on the original flight plan are Lansing, Mich., Newark, N.J., South Bend, Ind., and Melbourne, Fla. Three flights a week will serve Minneapolis.
The management of JetAmerica includes Skybus founder John Weikle, who left the company shortly after inception, Chris Gazel, chief pilot for Skybus, and Sharon McDermott, a regional station manager for the failed airline.
JetAmerica had originally planned to launch last year from Charleston, W.V., but astronomical fuel costs and the sagging economy led to the decision to postpone the starting date, while cash convinced it to relocate to Ohio.
JetAmerica is outsourcing the actual flying of passengers to Miami Air, which will fly the single Boeing 737-800 that comprises the JetAmerica fleet. Shades of Skybus, which ran into a PR nightmare when one of its fleet of only five planes was grounded for repair, leaving thousands stranded. There is lean, and then there is anorexic -- Skybus adopted a finger-down-the-throat business plan, and JetAmerica seems to be flying in its contrail.
A Toledo airport executive told the West Virginia Gazette that a direct flight to New York was important to the cities' business community. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Toledo is #52 among 372 metropolitan areas in unemployment, at 12.1%. An optimist would suggest that direct flights to New York could only help bring new business. A pessimist would wonder how many Toledo residents have the money and the need to fly to the Big Apple?
The airline probably isn't worried. It has all that startup capital from the cities it will serve, and if it doesn't work out? Just follow Skybus into the hanger.
Note: JetAmerica and Jet America are two different companies. Is that smart business?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-27-2009 @ 8:23PM
G.L. said...
Have to be careful with a lot of budget airlines. They let to cut corners for the sake of cutting costs.
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5-27-2009 @ 9:07PM
Jamie said...
Yikes. I don't know about this. Remember that plane that went down in upstate New York a few months ago? They FAA determined the cause of the crash was due to the pilot and co-pilot's lack of experience. The co-pilot made $18,000 a YEAR, which is equivalent to the person flipping your burgers at McDonald's! If these fares are $9, how much do you think these in experienced pilots are making? They are not hiring the experienced Veterans to fly their plane with these movie ticket priced rates. No thanks, I'll pay full price and get to my destination in one piece.
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5-28-2009 @ 2:36PM
Jacqui said...
I agree with you... You get what you pay for and I like a good deal, but this just doesnt sit right. $9 for am airline ticket. What kind of fuel are they using? Can they pay for top doller inspections?!
twitter.com/msprettyvirgo
5-27-2009 @ 9:47PM
IE said...
Scam scam scam
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5-27-2009 @ 11:44PM
Christine said...
A bunch of armpit cities that it will fly into....NO THANKS...I mean come on....How many people do you hear wishing they could go on vacations to any of these cities? Not many....
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5-28-2009 @ 1:02AM
Ford said...
Mr. Barlow, there is no such newspaper as the West Virginia Gazette. Makes me wonder what kind of people our journalism schools are graduating. It's the Charleston Gazette!
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5-28-2009 @ 2:37AM
Frank said...
It's about time we had Southern Airways back again.
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5-28-2009 @ 7:11AM
L. B. WINDLEY said...
AMEN! I didn't realize that anyone remembered Southern Airlines. They only had one fatal accident in their great history. This deal is a failure waiting to happen and like "worm farming" . The only winners will be those who took seed money from dumb people and cities and then sold them the old snake oil. What a stupid venture!
5-28-2009 @ 5:28AM
susan said...
Wouldn't want to be on their maiden flight..makes you wonder who is flying this plane.. Sorry sometimes cheaper just aint better...You can save a dollar but lose your life!!
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5-28-2009 @ 2:41PM
don said...
HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO SEE THIS HAPPEN BEFORE WE WISE UP. ANY IDIOT THAT KNOWS HISTORY OF THE AIRLINES KNOW THAT THIS IS JUST YOUR TAX DOLLARS DOWN THE TOILET.
CALL THEM IF YOUR DUMB ENOUGH TO FALL FOR THSI SCAM, YOU SPEND THOUSANDS ON A VACATION AND SHOW UP AT THE AIRPORT AND THEIR ONLY PLANE IS BROKE. YOU ARE SCREWED.
IF YOU PURCHASE A TICKET ON A REAL AIRLINE AND YOUR PLANE IS BROKE THEY PUT YOU ON ANOTHER REAL AIRLINE IF THEY DON'T HAVE ANOTHER PLANE. THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN WITH THESE MICKEY MOUNSE AIRLINE SINCE THE REAL AIRLINES WILL NOT HONOR THEIR TICKETS. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
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5-28-2009 @ 2:41PM
B.O stinks said...
the government will own them soon in communist America !
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5-28-2009 @ 4:01PM
Larry said...
Will we get off the ground ???
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5-28-2009 @ 4:02PM
Larry said...
If memory serves me correctly, JetBlue offered discounted flights several years ago before one "cheap flight" ended up in the Florida everglades with all passengers and crew dead. You get what you pay for and I pray that all airlines are doing prestine mechanical checks, required maintenance and pilot testing before ever leaving the ground.
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5-28-2009 @ 4:09PM
Jimbo said...
Larry,
That wasn't Jet Blue, it was ValuJet, which is now Air Tran.
6-01-2009 @ 7:19PM
Lu said...
Larry, ValueJet's crash had nothing to do with the price of their tickets. ALL Airlines carry packages from different companies, which was what happened in this case. The company lied and told ValueJet the packages , were all empty, which is what caused the accident.
Lu
5-28-2009 @ 4:15PM
Larry said...
Thank you Jimbo---I stand corrected, it was ValuJet. I also didn't know ValuJet is now Air Tran---Thanks for the update !
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5-28-2009 @ 5:00PM
Dean said...
I don`t care if its free I will not fly.
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5-28-2009 @ 5:31PM
laughingcossack said...
I agree with Dean. Until airlines start treating us like people again, they won't get my money. It is easier to walk across our unguarded southern border than to get thru airport security. Will this new airline offer parachutes?
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5-28-2009 @ 5:33PM
Kate said...
I'll fly for $9.00. How many professional pilots are intoxicated while flying? That happens more then you know. I have no doubt the airline will hire qualified pilots to fly their aircraft. The FAA has rquirements and regulations the airline has to meet for the safety of their crew and passengers. How many aircraft have experienced pilots at the helm but are in faulty condition? That's far more worrisome, believe me. Now if the airline would only offer a $9.00 ticket to Hawaii, I'd be set to go.
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5-28-2009 @ 5:42PM
Frosty said...
The city of Toledo gives a $600,000 grant for a new airline(that is NOT needed) but lays off 150 police officers because of the budget crisis. Make sense?
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