"Skybus" Founder to Try It Again

If you want to travel between cities like South Bend, Indiana or Toledo, Ohio, and places like New York and Central Florida, JetAmerica may have your answer. John Weikle, whose "Skybus" super-low-fare airline folded in May of last year, is trying again with JetAmerica even as the airline industry struggles for solvency worldwide.

For the traveler flying from a smaller city, or just looking for an incredibly low fare, JetAmerica might seem like an attractive option, but you have to book early.  The $9 one-way seats will be offered only to the first 9 people to book on a flight.  Fare will increase to an average of about $69 each way, and passengers will pay additional fees to check bags or have a soft drink.  Four of the airports served by JetAmerica are assisting the startup by waiving airport fees, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

Weikle left Skybus shortly after it launched in 2007, and he said he began plans for JetAmerica shortly after the company folded.  He said one of the problems with Skybus was that it had orders for more than 60 Airbus A319s, and this time he plans to start much more conservatively.  JetAmerica will begin operations with a single, leased 737-800, and has plans for as many as 4 leased airplanes by next year.  With the leases, JetAmerica will not technically be an airline, but a public charter, according to news reports.

In a pre-announcement written statement, Weikle said despite the deep recession and a double-digit drop in passenger traffic, now "is actually a good time for a start-up because airlines are cutting flights."  Vaughn Cordle, a former airline pilot turned market researcher, didn't necessarily disagree.  "His timing is actually pretty good," Cordle told The Chicago Tribune. But he added "Unfortunately, airlines serving those small markets very rarely make it. He will not get economies of scale or scope."  Cordle thinks the uptick in consumer confidence points to an airline industry rebound in 2010.

FMI: www.jetamerica.com