JetAmerica?
 

Isn't this the same guy who started Skybus?

New low-cost airline targets smaller markets

The airline used to be called Azul Air or something like that but due to the similar startup down in South America by Jet Blue, they changed the name. It'll be nice to have a direct flight to EWR out of TOL. I will say that.

polish off the resume??
 

here's a look at the paint scheme. no official website, but just more useless information on this start up

Jet America scouting Toledo Express - 2/02/09 - Toledo News - 13abc.com

Here is the newest Jet America info:

It looks like a long shot, but it may provide jobs for a while for some guys on furlough:

Ex-Skybus founder eyes Triad - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area:

One more link -- not a lot of jobs here!

Jet America set to begin service in July - St. Petersburg Times

I hear Miami Air will be operating for them for the first year. Good Luck!

is this the same guy who did this?

Southeast Airlines - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

..............

"Jet America will charge an additional $20 for a round-trip with an assigned seat, $20 to buy a ticket by phone and $10 to book on the Web site..."

So they are going to charge you to give them money? Why can't they just say a ticket costs $19-$209 and be done with it?

Yeah, but every airline does this. If a pax uses a majors's res line or God forbid strays into an airport to talk to someone with a pulse that can fog a mirror, they wack them for a $20-30 ticketing fee. And for that matter, why not kill the $15 bag fees, and just incorporate it into the cost of the ticket by calling it a surcharge, whatever? At the end of the day, it's still a ton less then the majors. Safer, as reliable? Ah, probably not, but cheaper, yes. And Joe Sixpack loves that.

Guess his Skybust lesson wasn't enough, because he's coming back for more punishment. This guy likes to lose money. Idiot. :rolleyes:

He didn't lose money on Skybust, the board bought him out before he had a chance to, then put the mad hatter looking guy in as CEO.

You are all missing the most important question.... what they plan to pay their pilots

nothing I read so far says hiring his own people at least for the first year they are using Miami Air for planes and pilots.

The Cranky Flier has a good summary and send up of this CHARTER (for now) airline.

http://crankyflier.com/2009/05/27/je...s-toledo-base/

The only reason they're doing anything is that they've managed to get 3 or 4 cities desperate for air service to pony up about $3 million in taxpayer funded incentives to pay for the thing.

Skybus had a plan, funding, and a fleet growth model (however flawed). This looks more like an outright scam to fleece the taxpayers. Yikes. Whatever it is, it's not another Skybus, Virgin America, or JetBlue wanna-be.

How do people this stupid, bumbling morons mange to become so wealthy???

Even in the biggest economic slowdown since the great depression there's still people lining up to start up an airline. Just amazing.

I understand the phone line charge and the in person charge, but a web based charge? How do you just buy a 9 dollar ticket? It's like Ticket- master's "service charge."

Ticketmaster might be a poor choice. They're a middle-man company that connects consumers to venues. The service charge is their piece of the pie to pay for ticketmaster's existence. Now, why this isn't just built into the price of the ticket is similar to this...

If you haven't noticed, the airlines are relying on ancillary fees which "de-couple" the charges that are normally lumped into the price of the ticket. The plus side is that if you don't want to pay for something (a free soda, for instance) you don't have to and therefore safe money.

The downside is that it can really **** off your customers. You can theoretically have a free ticket on an airline but then charge cutomers for everything (fuel surcharge, safety system surcharge, pilot-usage fee, etc etc). It's simply marketing the low ticket price. If you buy a ticket, first thing you look at is the price shown. The fee's attached after you select the flight are usually not considered by the flying public. So if you can't raise cash by raising fares, if you use hidden fees and ancillary revenue during the flight, you can make it up.

So to sum it up, up until now the airlines have asked for fees on take-it-or-leave-it items like soda and bags. JetAmerica is taking it one further by asking for fees for things like buying tickets. You can't get around the fee but it makes for the awesomely-low fare of $9. Nobody cares that they tack on fees that you can't get around afterwards.

I would be suprised if the pay is more then they pay the those pilots at Miami Air. With the economy as it is today, it is probably cheaper to wet lease the 737 from Miami Air for an indefinite period of time.

Easy Answer !
 

Easy. Because they're not "stupid,bumbling morons".

Let's face it, with the cost of money today, the availability of "power-by-the-hour" leases, the price of jet fuel and most importantly, the incentives paid by airports and municipalities, one can probably structure the company to make money during the first year or 18 months and then eject and make a tidy little sum. I'd say it was pretty smart! With the labor market as it is, the flying public wanting to fly for less, I'd bet the initial load factors will probably be descent.

Hey, why didn't I think of that ??

G'Day Mates:)

Turns out you make more money when an airline fails than when it succeeds. I know, we'll make the WORST AIRLINE EVER!

http://www.skaneatelessuites.com/wp-..._producers.jpg

Now we just need to get the FA's to sing "Springtime for Hitler" and we'd be all set.

I say good luck to em. Any new airline is a good thing (i.e. more jobs). I know way too many fellow pilots on the street and equally as many that are either now on reserve as Captain or downgraded. $9 fares might be a little hard to swallow, but if it gets some of us off the street, I'm all for it.

Ya' know....disco. Well said. There are several among us who might actually relish an opportunity to put down the chips and salsa and go back to work. SportsCenter is great, but after three plus months of Bermanisms, number 7 in the conga line during IMC into ORD sounds like Valhalla.

Hey I want to be off the couch as much as anyone... but the point is once they ween off the miami air planes, will they advertise crappy skybus payscales to those eager to get on the guppy? Watch the stack of resumes pile to the ceiling..

ROGER THAT!!! i think we have all seen this story before. similar airports before too. **cough** people express, skybus

Before we start getting into everyone's favorite arguement "Who's lowering the bar this week?" why don't we see if they can even make it out from under Miami Air first. Also, as much as I like beating a dead horse, why don't we save the guesses on the payscale until they actually publish one. :rolleyes:

How is lowering the bar on pilot pay is a good thing. I'm sure the pay is not close to what majors are paying now to fly the 737's and A320's. They will be a bottom feeder just like Mesa is in the Regional world.

Wait...just stop. The airline is not off the ground and yet many of you guys start bashing. When did we as Americans stop trying to succeed? Fall down and pick yourself up. How about wait to see what pay scales are instead of spouting half truths and very inaccurate general facts. Get the real facts first then make an statement.
The airline will be a FAR part 380 indirect carrier operated by Miami air for a while.

I say welcome them and give them a chance.

From another Forum
 

Yeah, the guys running this weren't part of the catastrophic team who ran skybus... Bill Diffendorfer (CEO), Ken Gile (COO), and Mike Hodge(CFO) where the three top players in SX for over 9 months into the company's last days. They took the control of the company from Weikle in a boardroom coup, siting among other things, his cosy relationship with the pilots. Weikle, who had planned a MUCH slower and low profile growth for the company and wanted to stick religiously to the Ryanair model, give huge incentives to his pilots and run in routes that the majors or large LCC's wouldn't touch due to economies of scale...

They on the other hand took the company from him, immediately alienated the pilots with a major change in how pay was going to work (thus the stories of the $60K/yr CA's).. and other interesting episodes of anti-pilot behavior ensued (like the buy your own water and coffee).. This along with completely going off the business plan with 2 times the growth rate originally planned, changes to routes, trans-cons, and high oil sealed it for SX..

Diffendorfer is a former EAL and CAL lawyer turned Airline Exec who needs to be barred from ever working in aviation, Ken Gile is a WN former DO who had no spine, and Hodge is a Hedge fund manager (the bane of aviation).

Weikle is a 25 year Abex operaions man; also UPS Airlines, and also owned a chain of UPS Stores. He has been trying to found an airline for a while, SX being the closest he got to success, but again, it was stolen from him.. literally a couple of weeks into the airlines beginning of operations.
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I personally don't like the fact this "Start-Up" doesn't even have there own a/c. They have to wet-lease. Each flight will be run as a charter...I dunno...kinda sounds like a regional to me... As soon as Delta hear's wind of this up in DTW, rates will drop up there, that's how it always works at TOL. A new route starts in TOL, DTW drops to match.

Jet America was a decent company back in the 80's and hopefully these folk's won't tarnish the name like that fella did with Pan Am.

I've got no problem with this airline as long as they keep wet-leasing from Miami Air. I can't exactly complain - their pilots are making more than I am at 14 years!

UAL 320 Cap

Delta
 

Delta get wind of it? I'm pretty sure they were well in the loop before we the public were

Well, when I meant "Get Wind", I was meaning load capacity and such. If the lane is actually making money or not. I don't think it will.

They started running tv ads about them, cheap cheap fares, not sure when they are supposed to start, if they haven't already.

I hear them on the radio. They are great. At the very end, they have a guy speed talking all the other acesorial fees like the $20 booking fee and the Baggage Fee and that the flights are operated under Miami Air.

Start date is July 13th...date this shuts down...November 9th.

I wonder if Republic will end up buying them too?