New airline coming to SAT & AUS in April

[LoneStarMike]

More good news for Central Texas air travelers. A new commuter airline will begin service from SAT and AUS beginning in April.

New airline to link small, mid-size cities
by Scott McCartney
The Wall Street Journal
January 30, 2007

Link ((Public version - no subsription required to read)

A new airline will try to solve a frustrating conundrum for thousands of travelers: how to fly nonstop between two small or medium-size cities.

Within the next week, ExpressJet Holdings Inc., a regional airline once wholly owned by Continental Airlines Inc., is expected to launch a new carrier under its own name that will focus on point-to-point service — direct flights without herding planes and passengers through hub airports — using 50-seat jets. ExpressJet will go to 24 cities and fly only where there isn't currently any nonstop service — routes like San Diego to Omaha, Austin to Albuquerque, Sacramento to Tucson, Kansas City to Raleigh and New Orleans to Jacksonville.

Ontario, Calif., near Los Angeles, will be the new airline's busiest city, with nonstop flights to 14 cities. Officials say exact schedules will be loaded in computer-reservation systems later this week. Flights will actually begin in April, with the full route network rolled out roughly west to east by May before the start of the summer travel season.

ExpressJet is pursuing a Goldilocks strategy — it wants markets that are not too small to leave planes empty, not too big to attract nonstop competition, but just right for a couple of flights a day with its small jets.

It hopes to connect dots that Southwest Airlines Co. and other major airlines can't afford to serve directly, thus making it easier for business travelers and leisure passengers to reach second-tier cities without the hassle and time of a connection at a hub. "Seat availability has become harder and harder for many communities," says James B. Ream, chief executive of ExpressJet.

Large airlines have increasingly focused on flying only into and out of their hub airports, forcing many travelers into inconvenient connecting flights and reducing capacity for small and medium-size cities. In addition, Southwest, long king of point-to-point airline service from medium-size cities, has increasingly put its new airplanes into big hubs like Philadelphia and Denver.

ExpressJet will launch with 44 jets, all 50-passenger Embraer aircraft repainted and refurbished with new gray leather seats and satellite-radio service. Fares will run roughly $150 to $300 one-way, about the same as the price structure today. It is trying to be a bit upscale to attract business travelers: ExpressJet plans to serve free snacks, sandwiches and cold pasta dishes, have its own segment-based frequent-flier program and sell tickets online, over the phone without added fees and through travel agents.

The new airline begins with solid financial backing since ExpressJet has another 205 airplanes currently flying profitably feeding passengers to Continental, which spun off ExpressJet in 2002.

Still, the risks are huge. For every successful JetBlue Airways Corp., there are dozens of other carriers that tried and failed. The Department of Transportation says it authorized 66 new airlines flying scheduled service from 1994 to 2004, and by the end of 2004, 43 had already shut down.

What's more, another regional carrier with its own independent strategy failed a year ago. Atlantic Coast Airlines renamed itself FlyI Inc. and started flying its 50-passenger jets under the name Independence Air in June of 2004. FlyI flew on the East Coast from a hub at Washington's Dulles Airport, trying to be a discount airline with some tickets as low as $29. It attacked United Airlines, which has a hub at Dulles, on busy routes to cities like Chicago and Boston. United responded sharply by adding flights, cutting fares and battling fiercely, and FlyI lasted only about 18 months before huge losses pushed it to liquidation.

ExpressJet says it can avoid FlyI's fate by staying away from hubs, direct competition with bigger airlines and price wars. The company has been studying the independent airline idea for several years, and was pressured into this gamble this year when Continental put some of its flying out for competitive bids and ExpressJet lost contracts for 69 airplanes.
ExpressJet had the option of turning those planes back to Continental, but didn't want to shrink. It studied whether it could create a business for the planes in Mexico, but decided the market was changing too quickly there. It bid on putting the planes to work feeding passengers to other airlines, but didn't land any business.

One market it did decide to go after is chartering flights. Historically, chartering planes has meant corporate jets that carry six to 15 people or so, or old 727s and other airline jets that carry 100 people or more. The 50-seat plane turns out to be a good size and far more economical for sports teams, corporate shuttles and package tours for casinos and cruise ships. So ExpressJet is taking 15 of the planes Continental gave up and using them to launch a charter fleet.

For the scheduled airline idea, the rise in ticket prices over the past year and the cuts airlines made in capacity created new opportunity and made ExpressJet's projections start to work. "This is the first time the fare mix is where it needed to be," said Chris Warren, senior director of strategic planning for ExpressJet. "Back in 2003, the fares just weren't where they needed to be."

In a way, the new airline fulfills the original mission of the 50-seat regional jet, designed in the 1980s and 1990s to bring jet service to small towns. Instead, over the past few years airlines have used regional jets on mainline routes, drawn to lower labor costs at regional airlines or the benefits of replacing old, gas-guzzling aircraft.

"There are 1,900 50-seat airplanes in this country and every one of them ended up flying into and out of a hub," says Mr. Ream. "No one has ever tried point-to-point with the regional jet."

Their website, www.xjet.com is now up and running.

From the "destinations" page (Link) this is a list of the new nonstop markets and expected start dates from SAT and AUS:

SAT

City/Start date

Albuquerque, NM to be announced 
New Orleans, LA to be announced
Oklahoma City, OK to be announced
Ontario, CA April 2 
Raleigh Durham, NC to be announced 
Sacramento, CA April 9 
Tucson, AZ to be announced 
Tulsa, OK to be announced

AUS

City/Start Date

Albuquerque, NM June 4 
Corpus Christi, TX April 30 
Jacksonville, FL to be announced 
Kansas City, MO April 23 
New Orleans, LA to be announced 
Oklahoma City, OK April 23 
Ontario, CA April 2 
Tucson, AZ April 9 
Tulsa, OK June 4

[MichaelB]

That is great news.... I travel for work a lot.... and MAN..... not having more direct flights from here is frustrating!

[Texan101]

Yeah was reading up on this, its a very smart idea. I really hope it works out. The direct flight to Tucson, will help me out alot since i travel this route around 5 times a year.

[potts]

Wow. This is certainly good news for SAT and AUS. I just wonder how long this will last. United Express recently tried nonstop service from SAT to ABQ, TUL, OKC, and MSY(New Orleans for those of you not familiar with the less obvious airport codes). The flights were not profitable and were quickly dropped. I wonder why ExpressJet thinks it can make these routes work. Great to see Sacramento and Ontario added to the list, though. Historically, California nonstops have done quite well from SAT and I think these will be no exception. I'm surprised that ONT and SMF are within the range of the Embraer 145 RJ though. Hmm.

[bombermwc]

Yeah, they're coming on board here in OKC too...as the posts show. It will be nice to get more direct flights places...even if they are on crappy little jumper jets.

[JAM]

Nice to see some competition. Looks like SWA already covers most of those cities from Austin. However, they are not non-stops, and some of them it takes all day to get there. SWA service is limited too.

http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/routemap.html

http://www.xjet.com/why_xjet/route_map.htm

[texastarkus]

Originally Posted by potts

Wow. This is certainly good news for SAT and AUS. I just wonder how long this will last. United Express recently tried nonstop service from SAT to ABQ, TUL, OKC, and MSY(New Orleans for those of you not familiar with the less obvious airport codes). The flights were not profitable and were quickly dropped. I wonder why ExpressJet thinks it can make these routes work. Great to see Sacramento and Ontario added to the list, though. Historically, California nonstops have done quite well from SAT and I think these will be no exception. I'm surprised that ONT and SMF are within the range of the Embraer 145 RJ though. Hmm.

I'm sure the folks at ExpressJet watched what happened when United Express (Trans States) attempted - and failed - to make a mini-hub in San Antonio. I'm sure they also looked at what happened to Atlantic Coast Airways when they tried and failed with Independence Air. I don't know their marketing plan but from what I understand, ExpressJet plans to use their own ground crews (except in smaller markets like OMA,FAT,ELP where they'll be served by Continental) their own ticket agents with their own station managers (with the exception of smaller markets). Something interesting to note check out the official website for the Corpus Christi airport - Continental airline has been replaced by ExpressJet.
True the headroom on a regional jet is less but they do have a crusing speed of .80 mach and the Extended Range version has a max distance of about 2,000 NM.
I'm sure there will be a lot of route tweeking in the comming months. See non-profitable routes dropped and new ones tried. Look for an Austin to Sacramento flight announcement by late summer - if not sooner. Down the road (probably in two or three years) ExpressJet will establish a couple of 'hubs.' One on the west coast and one in central texas - probably ONT and AUS.

[urban_encounter]

Originally Posted by potts

Great to see Sacramento and Ontario added to the list, though. Historically, California nonstops have done quite well from SAT and I think these will be no exception. I'm surprised that ONT and SMF are within the range of the Embraer 145 RJ though. Hmm.

I recall a study completed by SMF a couple of years ago that identiifed San Antonio as one of the cities where demand exisited for direct non stop service. Express Jet will provide reliable direct nonstop service between those markets. I would suspect that should service provide popular, then Southwest will probably to follow suit at some point in the future...

[LoneStarMike]

Here's Austin's official announcement from the airport's website.

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Beginning today, ExpressJet Airlines starts ticket sales from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport for nonstop service to: LA/Ontario, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Kansas City, Mo., Albuquerque, Tucson, Corpus Christi, New Orleans, and Jacksonville, Fla.

"We're pleased to welcome ExpressJet, one of the nation's largest regional airlines, and one of Fortune Magazine's Most Admired Airlines in 2005 and 2006, to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport," Mayor Will Wynn said.

"Not only will ExpressJet offer travelers to and from Austin more choices of nonstop flights to markets that either did not have them, or had too few options, but it will also fly a young fleet of aircraft with upgraded services," Mayor Wynn said.

Jim Ream, ExpressJet President and CEO, stated the ExpressJet fleet of 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft are configured with no middle seat, assigning every ExpressJet passenger a seat on the aisle, window, or both. ExpressJet branded service will also offer an improved customer experience with valet carry-on bag service and complimentary recognized name-brand snacks with full service meal options on longer flights.

"We thought Austin was the right market for ExpressJet because we can provide value by saving our customers time and making travel more convenient," Ream said. "Now, our customers will be able to relax on a nonstop flight, in a comfortable leather seat with more than 100 channels of free XM® Satellite radio."

With its entrance into the AUS market, ExpressJet plans to hire about 60 employees locally, transfer employees from other markets, and invest approximately $500,000 in airport facilities and equipment.

"There are markets that have the potential to be very successful with nonstop service," Said Jim Smith, Executive Director for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. "Judging from recent success with new nonstop service in 2006, AUS passengers do respond to new nonstop service and place a premium on nonstop versus connecting service."

ExpressJet schedules and fares are available for sale through most distribution channels for service originating from six markets: Los Angeles/Ontario, Sacramento, San Diego, Austin, San Antonio and New Orleans, to destinations in: Albuquerque, Spokane, Boise, Tucson, Omaha, Kansas City, Mo., Colorado Springs, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Birmingham, Raleigh-Durham, Louisville, Monterey, Calif., Fresno, Bakersfield, Jacksonville, Fla., El Paso, and Corpus Christi, Texas.

For AUS, they didn't have the schedules loaded for the nonstop service to New Orleans or Jacksonville - those are to be annunced later. Service to the remaining 7 cities will be 3 roundtrips between AUS-ONT, and 2 roundtrips per day between AUS and ABQ, TUS, OKC, TUL, MCI, and CRP for a total of 15 round trips. That's a total of 1500 additional seats in the market. In comparision, JetBlue only has 800 seats per day in and out of Austin, so ExpressJet, if successful, does have the chance to make a real impact on Austin's passenger totals.

The service sounds nice, but one thing ExpressJet will need to overcome is the fact that they have no real brand identity (yet) in the markets they're planning to serve.

Many people may have heard of Continental Express, but few folks know of ExpressJet as a stand-alone operation.

They'll need some effective advertising to get their name out in the marketplace. Something catchy and upbeat. Like this-

(Note: click the "Hit it Boys! link to load the midi first, then follow along. It's much better with the music.)

Hit it, Boys!

Fly XJet!

Tune: I Will Survive
Gloria Gaynor

(Instrumental Intro)

A brand new airline's comin'
To an airport close to you
And we are called ExpressJet Airlines
Let us change your point of view
We're tryin' out some new ideas
We're gonna change the way you fly
We're workin' hard to earn your business
Come onboard - give us a try!

Come Fly XJet
And then you'll see
We're doin' lots of brand new things
To make your flyin' hassle-free
With radio & meals & leather seats
Our service is sublime
And, we will get you there
With nonstop flights
We're gonna save you time

Come fly XJet
Mile after mile
We're always movin'
And improvin' things
We're gonna make you smile!
So give -us- a call whenever
You are ready to unwind
You can ditch the bus
Take off with us
And leave your world behind!

We are XJet
We're on the go
And we're hoping that you'll join us
So together we can grow
You'll enjoy our down-home service
And convenient schedules, too
Let us be your hometown airline
We're XJet - we're here for you!

(XJet!)

(Instrumental Interlude)

We can fly you lots of places
We can take you day or night
To Louisville & Birmingham
So come and a take an XJet flight
Jacksonville, Spokane, New Orleans,
Places that you wanna go
To Sacramento, Tulsa, Fresno
Tuscon, San Antonio

We are XJet
Look where we go
We're flyin' coast to coast
From Raleigh-Durham to Ontario
Our prices really are competitive
We'll give you a great deal
Fly to Oklahoma City
Omaha & Bakersfield

We are XJet
We're on your side
To Corpus Christi, San Diego
Destinations nationwide
Kansas City, Albuquerque
Austin, Boise, Monterey,
Make a reservation
Pack your bags
We'll have you on your way

Come fly XJet!
We're changin' things
All across the land
From El Paso
To Colorado Springs
You'll like flyin' XJet style
And our hospitality
Try XJet - we'll make your flyin' fun
The way it used to be...

(We're different.....)

Come be our guest
Come fly the best
Come join our
Happy faces
Flyin' places
All throughout the West
Fly for business or for pleasure
We go almost anywhere
So just take a flight
We'll treat you right
Let XJet take you there

Come fly XJet
We really care
Let us pamper you
That's what we do
Great service in the air
Book your flight today
Give us the chance
And you'll discover why
Come & see why everybody's
Choosin' XJet when they fly

(Why XJet?)
(Fly XJet!)
(Give us a try!)
(Ex-Press-Jet!)



Good luck to ExpressJet. I hope the people of San Antonio and Austin will support them.