By Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY
PEOPLExpress will be the name of a Virginia-based start-up carrier that hopes to begin flying passengers as early as this summer.
If successful, that would resurrect the brand of one of the first U.S. low-cost carriers to emerge following deregulation. The original PEOPLExpress flew from 1981 through 1987, when it was acquired by Continental Airlines.
The newest incarnation of PEOPLExpress will be headquartered in Newport News, Va., where it also will operate a base at the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport. PEOPLExpress says it plans to fly Boeing 737-400 jets with economy-class seating throughout the cabin.
The company says it has filed its initial certification paperwork with the Federal Aviation Administration to become a regularly scheduled passenger airline, adding it plans to do the same “shortly” with the U.S. Department of Transportation. The airline says it will announce specific routes and begin taking reservations once it clears those regulatory hurdles.
“And it still needs to secure financing,” the AP notes.
Still, if and when it gets up and running, PEOPLExpress gave a glimpse of what its start-up route-map might look like.
In its release, PEOPLExpress says its “mission” will be to fly to “markets currently underserved by major carriers, (offering) deeply discounted fares to select cities in the eastern U.S.”
And in a press kit distributed prior to its start-up announcement, PEOPLExpress says it “plans to initially serve destinations in Florida, New England, the Great Lakes, and Mid-Atlantic regions.”
In the release, PEOPLExpress adds:
This same low-cost service will be offered to other cities, such as Pittsburgh, Providence, West Palm Beach and Newark, where airline consolidation over the past few years has led to a reduction of non-stop air service.
PEOPLExpress says that, after its launch, it hopes to add service to Boston, Orlando “and many cities abandoned by other carriers. Specific route structures will be shared at a later date.”
“I think we can build a very nice operation serving dozens of cities and never really encroach on some of the major hub cities that other carriers are dominant in,” Morisi says in an interview with AP.
The company says it’s still finalizing details on its fare structure, but will eschew adding fees to ticket prices that begin at $69 each way.
“All fares will include seat assignments and there will be no fees for the first two bags,” the airline says in the prospectus handed out prior to its start-up announcement.
“Passengers will be seated in a single cabin with 158 seats with a pricing structure that is significantly more affordable than regional service provided by feeder airlines,” COO Morisi says.