A new startup using the brand name of defunct 1980s LCC PEOPLExpress has launched services from its base in Newport News, Virginia, to Boston, Pittsburgh, and the the original carrier’s home base of Newark, New Jersey.
The airline is using leased B737s equipped with 136 seats. The aircraft and crews are leased from Vision Airlines.
PEOPLExpress CEO Jeff Erickson said: “All three [airports] have exceeded our expectations, with Boston leading the pack. We’re quite a bit ahead of plan.”
Erickson stated that the rights to the PEOPLExpress brand were allowed to expire at least two years ago, so the new owners acquired the name without having to purchase it from another airline.
Erickson explained that the new PEOPLExpress has been launched to fill the gap that was left when AirTran’s service to the Hampton Roads region ended as a result of Southwest’s acquisition of that airline.
“All of AirTran’s service out of Newport News ended two years ago when Southwest took them over,” Erickson says. “We’re simply looking to take advantage of that.”