Officials at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International--one of America's most expensive airports--have confirmed that Skybus founder John Weikle toured CVG's Terminal 1 and is considering rebuilding his ultra-LCC JetAmerica in Southwest Ohio. The Cincinnati Enquirer had the news this morning, along with a money quote from an airport spokesman:

It was a feeling-out process to see how interested we were in him and how interested he would be with us. We think that what he's looking for is venture capital--and that wouldn't come from us at the airport, but rather from the community at large.

We all remember how well that worked out last time! Maybe they could get a little seed money from California?

Related Stories:
· New Airline for CVG? [Enquirer]
· JetAmerica coverage [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-09-09T15:20:25-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/25/93329/8542

Remember JetAmerica? It was to be the second coming of Skybus--until oil got super-expensive and everyone realized starting an airline is no way to make money. Last we heard, the project was scrapped in April.

But a tipster reports that there's still a little bit of cash floating around:

You are the only place I could find that might be able to let Jet America know they have funds sitting in the California State Controller's Office. It's only $1800+, but something is better than nothing.

Too true! Somebody call Weikle!

Related Stories:
· Jet America All But Finished [Jaunted]
· What the Skybus Shutdown Means for Jet America [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-08-25T09:45:16-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/5/1/135648/9192

A few weeks ago, rumors were swirling that Skybus could come soaring back to life. And the Columbus Dispatch reported that the carrier's assets, including its valuable operating certificate, were being shopped around. But as it turns out, no one wants them.

Airline chief Mike Hodge says nobody's even bid on his company's future aircraft orders, the Skybus name or that operating certificate. And the one guy who might've been interested, John Weikle, was too busy sending conspiracy theory-laden emails to former Skybus employees to pony up an actual offer.

The LCC is still open to selling off its goods, but after so many airline bankruptcies it's hard to imagine who'd want to buy them.

Related Stories:
· No Second Chance Expected for Skybus [Columbus Dispatch]
· Skybus Lives on in Photos [Jaunted]
· Skybus coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: msmail]]]> pbb 2008-05-01T14:00:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/4/21/113852/346

After its catastrophic implosion, it's hard to imagine Skybus actually returning to the skies. But industry watcher Nawal Taneja tells the Columbus Dispatch there's a chance it could happen:

I know there are people interested in the certificate. They just think the management team and the business model weren't right.

He's talking about the "air carrier operating certificate," a document issued by the FAA that lets airlines fly. That, among a bunch of other Skybus assets, are up for grabs now that the company has shut down.

Among those shopping is likely the carrier's founder, John Weikle. (He left the company shortly after it started flying.) Because of a bunch of federal rules, Weikle wouldn't be able to snatch up the certificate and launch Jet America with it, but he could try to revive Skybus, keeping its base of operations in Columbus.

It's too early to say whether any of this will actually happen, of course. But maybe those $10 tickets will be back sooner than we imagine.

Related Stories:
· New Airline Could Rise from the Ashes of Skybus [Columbus Dispatch]
· Skybus coverage [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-04-21T12:00:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/4/8/141345/2900

On Monday morning, the future for JetAmerica looked pretty grim, but we were holding out hope that John Weikle could get his airline aloft. But after Skybus went down in flames, he decided to pull the plug on the new project.

Charleston Area Alliance President Matt Ballard says fundraising for the project has stopped, and the Daily Mail quotes Weikle as saying checks are going back to investors. That's the end of Jet America for now.

Meanwhile Ballard says a lack of leadership on national energy policy is what's killing airlines these days, not a bogus business model:

I think all of the investors here in the local area still believe in John Weikle's ultra-low cost carrier model. In fact, there were many who despite the Skybus announcement wanted to move forward...I believe John will make this model work in the US; it works for Air Asia and Ryanair.

Related Stories:
· Skybus Founder Says Refunds of Public Money Coming [Daily Mail]
· What the Skybus Shutdown Means for Jet America [Jaunted]
· Jet America coverage [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-04-08T14:14:16-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/4/7/112459/8007

Skybus plans to file for bankruptcy in Delaware today, and that has a lot of people in West Virginia nervous. How's that? The founder of the 'bus, John Weikle, is now at work on JetAmerica, an ultra-LCC set to take off from Charleston in 2009.

Among those sweating is Yeager Airport Director Rick Atkinson:

[The Skybus shutdown] is like throwing a wet blanket on plans for Jet America...I don't see how we could go forward with this model.

Also worried is at least one local business leader--who's now frozen some of that seed money his group pledged to Jet America:

There's no way we would have done this if I didn't think Skybus was successful.

For his part, Jaunted pen pal Matt Ballard hasn't given up on the idea of Jet America. But we have to wonder: Does it count as an airline shuttering if the carrier never took a flight?

Related Stories:
· Weikle's Skybus Ceases Operations [Charleston Gazette]
· Top Secret Airline Watch: More Details on Jet America [Jaunted]
· Jet America coverage [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-04-07T11:37:50-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/4/3/113751/6790

Though it's still a long way off, more details are leaking out about the planned ultra-low cost carrier JetAmerica. At present, we'll be waiting until at least 2009 to see some actual planes.

Until then, The Charleston Gazette has the details on what to expect:

The paint scheme--called the aircraft livery--features a tail with a blue background and white stars. The rest of the back-end of the plane will be red, with a white outline. The airline's name...and website will also be on the side of the plane.

While the model of plane is still under wraps, the aircraft will hold at least 120 passengers, one investor said.

As far as we can tell, president John Weikle, pictured, is still shopping around for a $40 million investment to help things along. And Matt Ballard--who we spoke with recently--says destinations and more information should be released soon.

Related Stories:
· Jet America Details Still Under Wraps [Charleston Gazette]
· Jaunted Interviews: Matt Ballard Fills Us in on Project New Horizons [Jaunted]
· Top Secret Airline Watch: Yeager LCC Will Be Called Jet America [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-04-03T11:39:09-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/