New discount airline to start service at MSP
A start-up airline is announcing today that it's adding service to the Twin Cities.
JetAmerica is the latest in a series of low-cost airlines trying to establish a foothold in the market mainly served by Northwest and now Delta airlines.
The company is planning service between the Twin Cities and Toledo, Ohio. It also has flights from Rockford, Illinois to the East Coast.
John Weikle, the CEO of JetAmerica, also founded Skybus Airlines Inc., a now defunct discount airline. Skybus' hallmark was offering a limited number of tickets on each flight for $10. The airline folded in April 2008.
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JetAmerica will nearly replicate that offer, with fares starting at $9.
They haven't even struck a deal for gates here in the Twin Cities yet. But Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesman Pat Hogan said the commission looks forward to doing business with JetAmerica.
"We don't have a lot of small start up companies such as JetAmerica coming here," Hogan said. "It's a little different in that it's not a tested airline yet, but every airline has to get its start someplace. We hope that they're successful and we're glad they're interested in flying to the Twin Cities."
The company is planning a press conference to announce its service today.