RSS
Home
Discount carrier Jet America delays start-up
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Discount airline Jet America (www.jetamerica.com), which plans service between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Toledo, Ohio, has announced a delay in the inauguration of all of their planned service. Jet America originally planned to begin service on July 13 to several smaller airports including Toledo, Lansing , Melbourne and South Bend, but that has now been pushed back to August 14. Twin Cities service wasn't initially planned until later in August , so it isn't known if the one month delay will also affect the local introduction of service.
Jet America's statement blames the service delay on problems obtaining landing and takeoff slots at Newark International Airport. Newark is one of the key cities in Jet America's route system. Approximately 6,400 customers will be receiving refunds totaling nearly half a million dollars. Jet America plans to offer "scheduled" charter service utilizing Boeing 737-800 aircraft provided by Miami Air.
Given the current deep recession that has been particularly difficult for airlines worldwide, this may not be the best time for a new airline to consider starting service. Airlines across the United States have recently announced service reductions which include not only fewer flights, but the utilization of smaller aircraft on many routes. While this should lead to higher load factors, having a higher percentage of seats filled at low prices doesn't ensure profitability. Rather, it tends to mitigate losses. There continues to be one summer sales after another during a time period that is generally a good one for the airline industry. The recent spike in the price of jet fuel has once again placed several airlines on the watch list for possible bankruptcy filings in the coming fall and winter seasons.
Industry experts recommend that travelers pay for airline tickets by credit card to ensure that their monies are protected should an airline cease operations. While there are no immediate concerns about any of the well-known airlines at this time (Frontier Airlines is expected to come out of bankruptcy in the fall), it is always prudent to use a credit card for future travel arrangements.
