How big were SkyBus and USA3000?

[Flyer1015]

At their peak, how big did Skybus and USA3000 get, in terms of Airbus fleet numbers?

Also, besides those two, any other sole-A319/320 passenger airline fold in the last 25 years?

 

[i fly boxes]

skybus was a horrible business plan they only had 10 or less aircraft. USA 3000 was a small operation that did well when the economy was booming but when it tanked it tanked. spirit has kind of a niche market and they have been around since the 80's they have changed their business plan multiple times, the current one seems to work, the question is for how long will it work and then will they change again to adapt to the times. Their new management seems to be pretty good.

 

[Flyby1206]

Was Independence Air only Airbus or did they have the CRJs on that certificate as well?

 

[NEDude]

skybus was a horrible business plan they only had 10 or less aircraft. USA 3000 was a small operation that did well when the economy was booming but when it tanked it tanked. spirit has kind of a niche market and they have been around since the 80's they have changed their business plan multiple times, the current one seems to work, the question is for how long will it work and then will they change again to adapt to the times. Their new management seems to be pretty good.

USA 3000 was a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple Vacations. At its peak it operated 12 A320s full-time and had short term seasonal leases on two other A320s. USA 3000 was born out of a desire to control all aspects of the Apple Vacations experience. During the 1990s Apple had to rely on third party charter companies to provide lift to the Caribbean and Mexico as major U.S. carriers had limited lift at the time. Those third party charter companies were always the weak link in the customer reviews. So in the late 1990s the work began on certifying their own in-house airline. USA 3000 received its operating certificate in December 2001 and reached its peak in 2004-2006 before it began its slow decline. In the aftermath of 9/11, major U.S. airlines began more seasonal operations to Apple Vacations destinations. As a result Apple could outsource its lift to more reputable carriers than it could in the 1990s. As a result a decision was ultimately made in spring 2008 to begin returning aircraft to the lease holders as the leases expired - with N265AV being the fist to go when the EWR base close in April 2008. As of four or five days ago the company shut its doors completely.

USA 3000 was not a true airline like Skybus, Independence, Spirit or Sun Country. It was more of the airlift department of a vacation company. While it did sell tickets to the general public and ran some flights not associated with Apple - such as the PIE operation, its main purpose was to support the Apple Vacations product and experience, not to compete with other airlines. As with all departments in all companies, when the parent company decided it could outsource for cheaper, the department died.

Sorry, probably more than you wanted to know.

 

[Always deferred]

Was Independence Air only Airbus or did they have the CRJs on that certificate as well?

Independence had 87 CRJs in addition to the 10+ A319s.

 

[Ralph Cramden]

Independence had 87 CRJs in addition to the 10+ A319s.

87 CRJ 200s & 12 A319s. At the end we were down to 30 CRJs and the 12 busses.

Fun while it lasted.

I was (pinkie finger raised).

 

[Flyer1015]

Thanks NEDude, that's great info, appreciate it.