Virtual Airline JetAmerica Offers Cheap $9 Tickets
New ultra cheap airline Jet America Airlines (www.jetamerica.com/) is offering $9 tickets for non-stop one-way seats on its flights between six U.S. cities. The first flights take-off from Newark’s Liberty Airport on July 13.
Jet America
Jet America is starting off with flights from Lansing, Michigan, Melbourne-Vero Beach, Florida, South Bend, Indiana and Toledo, Ohio to New York- Newark, New Jersey. And starting August 14, Jet America will also fly roundtrip from Toledo to Minneapolis-St. Paul.
It works on the same concept as Europe’s Ryanair and the now-defunct US based Skybus. Which is no big surprise, since Skybus founder John Weikle is also the founder of Jet America.
In a press statement, Weikle said that “Our goal is to fly wherever JetAmerica can offer air fares of at least 40 percent less than competitors. The Jet America business model is based on flying routes to mostly secondary, underserved cities with populations of 3 to 6 million people living within 75 miles of uncongested airports that do not currently provide big jet, direct, non-stop service to key destinations.”
And if you’re thinking how a new airline could possibly take-off and survive in the current economic climate, here’s how it works – there is no airline or crew. It’s all virtual. The company is a Part 380 Indirect Air Carrier which leases planes and flight crew from other airlines. And even that hasn’t been easy.
They were supposed to work with planes and flight crews provided by Sun Country Airlines, but that deal hit a roadblock, so now they’re working with Miami Air International Inc., starting with one leased Boeing 737-800. And the operational logistics (most flights are not daily, see flight schedule) were made even easier by the airports, some of whom are even offering grants and incentives to Jet America.
And as for the $9 fares, it’s something like the $1 Boston-New York fares offered by Boltbus. Jet America fares actually range from in between $9 to $199, with the lowest fares going to the early bookers. And then, there’s the add-ons and extras – mandatory $5 convinience fee, plus baggage ($15 per checked bag), softdrinks and reservation charges ($10 each way).
On paper, the company is based in Clearwater, Fla., but the operational base is in Toledo, OH. The details are not pretty, and neither is their website, but it might just work - there is virtually no competition, and let’s face it - a 40% discount is not something you can ignore.
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3 Responses
I read about this in the Chicago Tribune this week. I like the fact that they are starting w/ smaller Midwestern cities. We in the Midwest get tired of the Jet Blues and Virgins of the world with their coast-to-coast deals passing us right by!
Carrie’s last blog post..Pan’s Foods in Oak Park; No Coupon Love
[...] JetAmerica, which started taking bookings for $9 flights with much fanfare in late May, was supposed to launch on July 13. They’ve now postponed the launch to Aug 14. The reason for the delay is a lack of landing and take-off time slots at Newark. [...]
[...] JetAmerica, which started taking bookings for $9 flights with much fanfare in late May, was supposed to launch on July 13. They’ve now postponed the launch to Aug 14. The reason for the delay is a lack of landing and take-off time slots at Newark. [...]