gloopy

You could chicken and egg it all the way back to the Wright bros I guess, but to be clear I was talking about modern era start ups. Every airline was a start up at some point, we all get that.

But the industry is finally finding a sustainable footing due in no small part to significant consolidation. The last thing we need now are more start ups following the typical CA's fly at FO wages, no maintenence and sweetheart airport deals offering impossibly low fares until reality (and longevity) sets in.

The DOT needs to do its job and rigorously enforce the financial fitness of prospective carriers. Obviously they have not been doing that because they pretty much rubber stamp almost anything that's willing to wait out the process and fill the forms out. Beyond that, the existing airlines, which absolutely include so called "LCC's", need to mercilessly crush any potentially viable future start up because even with the consolidation we've seen, there is still a ton of competiton and redundency in a largely commodity industry.

Add in severe volatility and extremely high CapEx for the long term, and the last thing we need are more zero longevity SJS start ups trashing yields and capacity dumping into existing markets. Its not good for any of us in the long run, including the vast majority of the start ups as they almost always end up closing the doors. Best case is they don't do enough damage to the industry to take any others with them.

SuperPilotJesse

You failed to answer the only question I asked.

blastoff

For most pilots, with the exception of UPS, those carriers would be on the bubble of describing as "good." But for argument's sake, you can put those you list as the few "not much good." But even for that list, they were primarily created to undercut the existing legacies, both in passenger service and labor costs. The rest of the airlines started since deregulation have been primarily regionals, ACMI carriers, and national airlines that have gone Tango Uniform. Were it not for the current fad of acquiring other airlines, the companies you list would most likely (and could still) go the way of Skybus.

rickair7777

More precisely, they were created to "cherry-pick" lucrative routes between large metro centers, chipping away at the legacies' margins while leaving them holding the bag with their hub-and spoke responsibilities to Y-class smaller communities (not counting certain niche carriers).

I think a justifiable piece of re-regulation would be to determine a minimum size for small markets which must be supported and then require all airlines doing business in a given state (or other geographic division) to serve ALL markets that meet the threshold.

No more cherry-picking the premium pax on the LAX-JFK...if you want to play, you have to support Podunk Falls and East BFE as well.

For markets smaller than the threshold, you could still serve them if you thought you could make a buck (and there's always EAS).

flyboy32

So I gather this airline is going no where at all.

What a waste of $$$ that could have been used for a better cause. Selfish Ted just like Dell Smith of Evergreen Airlines. Love to spend money on their hobby's.

johnso29

Can't say I'm surprised by this. Looks like California Pacific is toast.


Carlsbad airline delayed in FAA dispute Page 1 of 2 | UTSanDiego.com

“FAA has expended significant resources in man-hours and travel funding to accomplish certification oversight tasks associated with the CP Air Project,” FAA San Diego field manager Jerome Pendzick wrote to Vallas in November. “The actual performance of CP Air has not been what was expected, and as such, the FAA now finds itself facing serious doubts about the possibility of a successful certification of CP Air.”

FAA Spokesman Ian Gregor said the agency temporarily suspended the E170 certification because it did not have required data showing that Palomar’s runways could handle a plane of that size.

Salukipilot4590

I don't know what they were thinking. It would have been fun though!

flyboy32

And how much does that DATA cost to order... Seems a simple T/O PERF chart would settle this argument in less that a day with a call to AeroData.

Or is the old man so cash strapped to be able to purchase that.

If Ted was feeling good about 3-6 months why hasnt he hired any Pilots/Dispatchers..general operations staff,it will take a bit of time to get them up to speed.


I just don't see this flying...anytime.

johnso29

California Pacific was a terrible idea to begin with. These rich, bored individuals do nothing but get people's hopes up. The man is paying $200,000 per month for a parked airplane. He needs another $10 million in fundraising. Honestly, just give it up.

FLowpayFO

It was a romantic idea, and in theory it should work given the local community (I worked at CRQ for several years). But I don't think the right people are behind this operation, I feel like the only way this place would have a chance is if they align with codeshare agreements and a huge budget for marketing.