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XTRA Airways - article on beoming a ULCC?

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XTRA Airways - article on beoming a ULCC?

Old 04-03-2019, 06:18 PM
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Default XTRA Airways - article on beoming a ULCC?

I thought that XTRA Airways was "absorbed" by SWIFT AIR LLC.???

Now this new plan is announced, so did Swift Air only just "absorb" / "acquire" the material assets (planes, parts, mtc. equipment, etc.) from XTRA Airways?

Sounds like XTRA Airways kept their FAA 121 Charter Certificate, but as I understand it...the FAA 121 Charter approval would NOT also allow starting initial FAA 121 "daily" (point-to-point) flying on a repetitive basis? This would require a whole new approval from the FAA, including observations and route checks.

So, it appears this is a new operation for XTRA Airways ONLY, and Swift Air would NOT be involved in this new adventure at all?

Correct?

Also, sounds like they plan on using used B-737's, so are the
-800's becoming more affordable?

It will be very interesting what level of pay and benefits will be offered by XTRA to attract "qualified" pilots in this demanding and changing hiring environment. In fact, just read where regional PSA (AA wholly-owned) just got a pay raise for F/O's and Captains, AND they have a flow to AA as well! Therefore, Envoy and Piedmont will have to follow suit to keep the new F/O's coming in.

AU
====================================


New Ultra-Low-Cost Airline Led By Former United Executive Aims To Take Off This Year
06:13


Play
April 02, 2019
Seth Kaplan


"There's a lot of room for more airplane seats in the United States," says Andrew Levy, CEO of XTRA Airways. The airline could carry passengers as America's newest "ultra-low-cost carrier" by late this year. Pictured: A passenger aircraft takes off from Hong Kong International Airport. (Kin Cheung/AP)

A second startup airline business with a prominent founder could soon launch in the U.S., after a decade and a half of airline industry consolidation that left consumers with healthier airlines but fewer choices.

XTRA Airways, as it's known today — although the name will probably change — could carry passengers as America's newest "ultra-low-cost carrier," or ULCC, by late this year, according to a document for potential investors seen by Here & Now and confirmed by Andrew Levy, the airline's CEO. He was most recently the chief financial officer of United Airlines.

That's more than a year sooner than a competing airline also in the works, for now dubbed Moxy, led by JetBlue founder David Neeleman. XTRA can launch its new business relatively quickly because the airline already exists as a charter carrier.
"There's a lot of room for more airplane seats in the United States," Levy tells Here & Now. As evidence of the opportunity, the document points to what XTRA considers full flights and high fares in America today.

Levy surprised United employees and investors by leaving the company in May 2018, just as its operations and profits were improving, to "return to the more entrepreneurial pursuits that have defined my career." Previously, he was the co-founder and president of Allegiant Air, a not-always-loved but almost-always-profitable ULCC. Allegiant Air is one of three major U.S. ULCCs, alongside Spirit and Frontier.

Ultra-low-cost carriers typically distinguish themselves from other airlines by including little other than basic transportation with the base fare and charging extra for almost everything else.
"There's a lot of room for more airplane seats in the United States." Andrew Levy, CEO of XTRA Airways

XTRA will distinguish itself from its competition by providing better service, according to the investor document. It says ultra-low-cost carriers in the U.S. are unreliable compared to others around the world, and rely too much on primary airports. XTRA will seek out lower-cost, second-tier airports.
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Could the grounding of all Boeing 737 MAX jets, following a second fatal crash last month, hurt XTRA's ability to find planes at acceptable prices? Levy says he doesn't think so.
"If [the grounding] looks like it's going to be extended, then I think people will start to make alternative plans, whether it's holding onto [older] aircraft longer or other ways to manage through the situation," he says. "But we haven't seen any difference in the supply of aircraft, at least not in the last several weeks."
"I don't think people are going to want to extend aircraft leases and then find out the MAX they were waiting for is going to be ready to fly in two or three weeks," Levy added.

Seth Kaplan is Here & Now's transportation analyst.
This segment aired on April 2, 2019.
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Old 04-03-2019, 07:19 PM
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Swift didn’t acquire the xtra certificate, swift bought their planes and contracts. Pilots allowed to come over that wanted to.
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Old 04-03-2019, 07:37 PM
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Ok, got it. Thank you for the clarification. AU
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Old 05-06-2019, 09:22 AM
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Just saw a profile update on Extra Airways. Sounds promising. Does anyone know any details on hiring, pay, etc...
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Old 05-07-2019, 07:39 AM
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Originally Posted by mexipilot84 View Post
Swift didn’t acquire the xtra certificate, swift bought their planes and contracts. Pilots allowed to come over that wanted to.
Glad you cleared that up. For some reason the Swift-XTRA merger/acquisition/buyout/etc/etc/etc had been out there for a while. XTRA sold planes and book of business to Swift. Period. Certificate is alive and well and belongs now to an aviation expert. Pilot Pay Scales will be competitive. Comparable to the rest of the ULCC and LCC out there. HQ will most likely move out of Miami, so Miami will not be a base. This does sound very promising. First of all it is NOT a start-up. It's an already established +30 year old 121 Flag, Domestic and Supplemental Air Carrier. Andrew Levy isn't new to the aviation industry. He shaped Allegiant's business model and made it the money maker it is today. Has the experience of being part of one of the largest Aviation Holdings as United's CFO and left that multi-million dollar job to start the XTRA project. XTRA Airways certificate is valuable. It's a pre-Value Jet certificate which allows the Airline to add as many air-frames to the certificate without going through DOT approval. Hope Levy gets his ducks in row ASAP. And I personally think pilot hiring will not be an issue.
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Old 05-08-2019, 05:14 PM
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Originally Posted by ChopperHopper View Post
Glad you cleared that up. For some reason the Swift-XTRA merger/acquisition/buyout/etc/etc/etc had been out there for a while. XTRA sold planes and book of business to Swift. Period. Certificate is alive and well and belongs now to an aviation expert. Pilot Pay Scales will be competitive. Comparable to the rest of the ULCC and LCC out there. HQ will most likely move out of Miami, so Miami will not be a base. This does sound very promising. First of all it is NOT a start-up. It's an already established +30 year old 121 Flag, Domestic and Supplemental Air Carrier. Andrew Levy isn't new to the aviation industry. He shaped Allegiant's business model and made it the money maker it is today. Has the experience of being part of one of the largest Aviation Holdings as United's CFO and left that multi-million dollar job to start the XTRA project. XTRA Airways certificate is valuable. It's a pre-Value Jet certificate which allows the Airline to add as many air-frames to the certificate without going through DOT approval. Hope Levy gets his ducks in row ASAP. And I personally think pilot hiring will not be an issue.
Uh, they sold off their planes and all their business... it *is* a startup just using an existing certificate...
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Old 05-13-2019, 07:37 AM
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Originally Posted by woog315 View Post
Uh, they sold off their planes and all their business... it *is* a startup just using an existing certificate...
Stat-up's are brand new certificates that require a long and expensive process that can take years before they actually fly revenue service. Start-up's require adding aircraft type, DOT financial fitness review, FAA application review and approvals, table-tops, proving runs for supplemental, flag and domestic ops, etc, etc. That's what a startup means as far as Air-Carriers go. Apparently XTRA wants to shift it's business and start scheduled revenue service, which they wouldn't have to apply for any other certification or approval.
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Old 05-13-2019, 07:48 AM
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Hopefully is not the Airline advertising looking for Airbus pilots with pay between $50-$95k....if it is it will be another 36th scumbag operation. Does anyone know who is the one looking for Typed A320 captains for $95k/y? I wish I was jk...
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Old 05-13-2019, 09:59 AM
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Originally Posted by Hellafo View Post
Hopefully is not the Airline advertising looking for Airbus pilots with pay between $50-$95k....if it is it will be another 36th scumbag operation. Does anyone know who is the one looking for Typed A320 captains for $95k/y? I wish I was jk...
Hadn't heard of this Airbus gig. It's definitely not XTRA. They're getting out of that supplemental space (or as you call it 36th street sb ops).
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Old 05-13-2019, 10:01 AM
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Originally Posted by Hellafo View Post
Hopefully is not the Airline advertising looking for Airbus pilots with pay between $50-$95k....if it is it will be another 36th scumbag operation. Does anyone know who is the one looking for Typed A320 captains for $95k/y? I wish I was jk...
I believe it’s Aruba Air
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