Bob CollinsJet America has announced plans to start service from Toledo to Minneapolis, with some fares as low as $9.
The blog, The Cranky Flier, is full of disbelief.
I honestly couldn’t make this sound any worse if I tried. The CEO is John Weikle, one of the original founders of Skybus. He has slightly tweaked the plans laid out when the airline was going to be named Air Azul. Now, the flights from Rockford are gone, as are the BWI connectors. And instead of infringing upon JetBlue’s trademark, they’ll now infringe upon Alaska’s trademark. Alaska still owns the trademark for Jet America to provide charter airline services. And yes, this is a charter operation for now.
Right. Skybus. The people who left hundreds of passengers stranded when it went belly up. How much are you willing to risk to be stranded in Toledo?
There’s more. The airline will have only two jets. Other routes include Newark and Lansing, Melbourne (Florida), and South Bend. Some of these cities are paying Jet America to fly there. Minneapolis isn’t one of them.
Toledo bills itself as a “business friendly” city. In March, it reported an unemployment rate of 12.3 percent.
