islandairDHC8
user flying CRAP
- Joined
- May 24, 2004
- Posts
- 20
Has anyone heard of this company before?
http://www.presstelegram.com/business/ci_4793723
LONG BEACH - A former JetBlue Airways executive has resubmitted an application to operate 20 commuter flight slots at Long Beach Airport.
Alex Wilcox, president of BAG Aviation Holdings LLC of Henderson, Nev., applied for the spots on Nov. 14 in a letter to airport manager Chris Kunze.
Last December, Wilcox withdrew an earlier proposal to use 19 commuter flight slots, citing uncertainty over proposed terminal improvements and a fleet of planes still in production.
That plan was submitted by Wilcox and a company then known as Smooth Flight Holdings Inc.
"I think the (environmental review) process has come a long way from last year. I think something adequate will be constructed," Wilcox said about why he's decided to submit his plans.
Plus, Wilcox said, he has plenty of experience operating an airline at the terminal in its current condition.
"But it looks like something will be built," he said.
Hawaii Island Air, which operates as Island Air out of Hawaii, will be providing BAG Aviation with a fleet of at least three Bombardier Q100 and Q400 commuter aircraft for flights into and out of Long Beach, Wilcox said.
Wilcox declined to say what destinations his operation
would schedule. His operation would not fly to Hawaii, however, he said.
"I'm a really big believer in that airport," Wilcox said of why he wants to set up commuter flights out of Long Beach.
"I think there's a huge, enormous appeal" for those kinds of operations in Long Beach and the Los Angeles Basin, he said.
The 20 currently unused flight slots are part of 25 total commuter spots at the airport. There are also 41 daily commercial flight slots, but all of those are already in operation.
Wilcox formerly was operations manager for JetBlue's West Coast flights.
Commuter slots are restricted to planes that weigh 75,000 pounds or less and are often used by airlines to complete flights to smaller cities or airports where their larger passenger jets can't land, or where it's not a good economic choice to fly.
The city has set Dec. 14 as a deadline for other airlines to bid for the flight slots.
The notification is a city protocol and was sent out after Wilcox's slot request. The notification is designed to help the city avoid any criticism from airlines that it is awarding the last of available spots at the facility without giving others an equal chance at them, said city spokeswoman Sharon Diggs-Jackson.
If other airlines also bid for flight slots, the city will gather all requests and hold a lottery to determine who gets how many spots.
Whoever receives the slots has to begin service within 90 days. Flight operations must begin within 180 days.
"BAG intends to be a credit to the Long Beach Airport and will endeavor to provide a high quality product with by far the quietest aircraft to operate at LGB, with frequent and reliable service," Wilcox wrote to Kunze in his formal application.
Airport area residents and some Long Beach organizations are in negotiations with the city to hammer out differences over the findings of an Environmental Impact Report on proposed terminal improvements.
The council already has certified the EIR, an essential action for terminal improvements, but residents and advocacy groups were upset with the breadth of the environmental document on key issues of health, noise and the potential for more daily commercial flights.
A certified EIR is needed before the council can decide whether to build the terminal project, which calls for expanded terminal space, ticketing counters, hold rooms and concession areas.
http://www.presstelegram.com/business/ci_4793723
LONG BEACH - A former JetBlue Airways executive has resubmitted an application to operate 20 commuter flight slots at Long Beach Airport.
Alex Wilcox, president of BAG Aviation Holdings LLC of Henderson, Nev., applied for the spots on Nov. 14 in a letter to airport manager Chris Kunze.
Last December, Wilcox withdrew an earlier proposal to use 19 commuter flight slots, citing uncertainty over proposed terminal improvements and a fleet of planes still in production.
That plan was submitted by Wilcox and a company then known as Smooth Flight Holdings Inc.
"I think the (environmental review) process has come a long way from last year. I think something adequate will be constructed," Wilcox said about why he's decided to submit his plans.
Plus, Wilcox said, he has plenty of experience operating an airline at the terminal in its current condition.
"But it looks like something will be built," he said.
Hawaii Island Air, which operates as Island Air out of Hawaii, will be providing BAG Aviation with a fleet of at least three Bombardier Q100 and Q400 commuter aircraft for flights into and out of Long Beach, Wilcox said.
Wilcox declined to say what destinations his operation
would schedule. His operation would not fly to Hawaii, however, he said.
"I'm a really big believer in that airport," Wilcox said of why he wants to set up commuter flights out of Long Beach.
"I think there's a huge, enormous appeal" for those kinds of operations in Long Beach and the Los Angeles Basin, he said.
The 20 currently unused flight slots are part of 25 total commuter spots at the airport. There are also 41 daily commercial flight slots, but all of those are already in operation.
Wilcox formerly was operations manager for JetBlue's West Coast flights.
Commuter slots are restricted to planes that weigh 75,000 pounds or less and are often used by airlines to complete flights to smaller cities or airports where their larger passenger jets can't land, or where it's not a good economic choice to fly.
The city has set Dec. 14 as a deadline for other airlines to bid for the flight slots.
The notification is a city protocol and was sent out after Wilcox's slot request. The notification is designed to help the city avoid any criticism from airlines that it is awarding the last of available spots at the facility without giving others an equal chance at them, said city spokeswoman Sharon Diggs-Jackson.
If other airlines also bid for flight slots, the city will gather all requests and hold a lottery to determine who gets how many spots.
Whoever receives the slots has to begin service within 90 days. Flight operations must begin within 180 days.
"BAG intends to be a credit to the Long Beach Airport and will endeavor to provide a high quality product with by far the quietest aircraft to operate at LGB, with frequent and reliable service," Wilcox wrote to Kunze in his formal application.
Airport area residents and some Long Beach organizations are in negotiations with the city to hammer out differences over the findings of an Environmental Impact Report on proposed terminal improvements.
The council already has certified the EIR, an essential action for terminal improvements, but residents and advocacy groups were upset with the breadth of the environmental document on key issues of health, noise and the potential for more daily commercial flights.
A certified EIR is needed before the council can decide whether to build the terminal project, which calls for expanded terminal space, ticketing counters, hold rooms and concession areas.
