FN FAL
Freight Dawgs Rule
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2003
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Did I miss this somewhere, never heard of it before.
New regional airline, based at Lambert Field, plans summer startup
[size=-1]Associated Press[/size]
ST. LOUIS - A regional airline based at Lambert Airport plans to be airborne by next summer, according to documents filed with the federal Department of Transportation.
GoJet Airlines LLC, would serve as a regional feeder for bankrupt United Airlines, flying 70-seat jets to destinations served by United and United Express, the filing said. The company hopes to start flights on Aug. 1, although a federal bankruptcy judge must approve its service agreement with United.
Last month, GoJet signed a letter of intent to buy up to 30 jets from Toronto-based Bombardier Aerospace.
The airline was created by Trans States Holdings Inc., the parent company of Trans States Airlines Inc., based in the St. Louis suburb of Bridgeton. According to the filing, GoJet would start with two regional jets and increase that number to five over its first six months.
Trans States Airlines already operates a fleet of 70 aircraft, none of more than 50 seats. It cannot have larger airplanes because of an agreement between American Airlines and its union pilots, who worry that their jobs will be outsourced to lower-paid regional pilots.
The agreement applies to Trans States as a carrier for AmericanConnection.
The use of regional carriers to provide service to and from small cities has been a key part of American's business strategy in St. Louis. The airline cut its flight schedule out of Lambert by half last year, and nearly 30 percent of passengers at the airport are carried by regional airlines.
GoJet's agreement with United will guarantee revenue and reimburse for such expenses as jet fuel, according to the filing. United would also handle ticket pricing, scheduling and seat inventories and provide financial incentives for customer service and passenger volume
