Nearly $500,000 In Fees At Newark Cited As Prime Culprit

When Newark Airport said they would charge low-fare startup carrier JetAmerica just under half a million dollars in fees for takeoff slots, the company essentially threw up its hands and said "Never Mind."

More than 25,000 tickets had been sold, some for as low as $9 each way. JetAmerica will be providing automatic refunds in the next two weeks.

In the meantime, Florida Today reports that JetAmerica CEO Steve Schoen says he'll try again to get flying in the fall, with Melbourne, FL airport serving as the base of operations for the company's 737-800. And that's not plural for a reason. “Melbourne will be our focus city,” Schoen said in a telephone interview late Friday from Clearwater, the airline's home base. He also said he plans to make Lansing, MI a "target city."

Spokesman Bryan Glazer said JetAmerica originally thought it did not need to buy slots at airports, because they would be operating as a charter airline. But after tickets were sold, the FAA said the company was behaving like a scheduled airline, not a charter, and that slots would be required. That caused the first round of delays and refunds earlier this month, and the eventual shutdown.

In all, Jet America is expected to return about $1.5 million to it's customers, the paper reported.

FMI: www.jetamerica.com