Alright, England. You have about three hours before the debut of CelebAir, the new show that will put a bunch of reality has-beens in Monarch Air planes headed for Ibiza, Tenerife and other sunny spots.
As much as we want to love this train wreck, an early review from a CelebAir passenger isn't too promising:
Before long, the captain took to the loudspeaker to introduce our "celebrity" crew. And nothing happened. No gasps, or mad fans fainting. The looks of utter incomprehension on the passengers' faces can't have done much for Kenzie and Lisa's egos.
No matter, by this time, Lisa was performing the safety demonstration--"I always get this bit wrong," she giggled, worryingly, while explaining how to do up the lifejacket--and we were off.... They were just like real cabin crew, only much, much less competent.
Remember Jet America? 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.
CelebAir, the airline-turned-reality show set to take off September 2 has just announced its celebrity staff. Sorry, Americans: You'll have no idea who these people are!
Among the famous faces that'll be checking in passengers and serving drinks are model and WAG Michelle Marsh, comedian Phil Cornwell, "X Factor" alum Chico and former pop princess and reality TV star Lisa Scott-Lee
Lisa's husband Johnny Shentall will also be working for CelebAir, which should lend a bit of that all important manufactured reality TV drama to the series. Seats are still available!
Newly appointed Flydubai COO Ken Gile plans to keep costs down at his new low cost carrier by hedging the cost of fuel, a strategy most notably used by perennially profitable Southwest Airlines--but not at Skybus, where he was president and COO until the carrier went bankrupt in April.
The specifics are still being worked out, says Gile:
We are focusing on implementing a successful hedging plan and Southwest Airline's hedging strategy is something we could look at. Fuel is one of the biggest expenses for any airline so we have to look at ways to control it in order to be able to offer the lowest fares in the region.
Flydubai also plans to lower costs by promoting electronic booking and keeping planes in the sky as much as possible, two strategies Skybus did use. Wonder if the new airline will have a call center?
New low cost carrier Flydubai will have a familiar face running the show: Former Skybus COO Kenneth Gile. He's been tapped to tackle the same job for the nascent airline, which hopes to be flying by summer of next year.
It won't be the first time in the Persian Gulf for Gile, as he started his commercial career with Saudi Arabian Airlines before joining Southwest, eventually become the Texas LCC's chief pilot and director of flight operations.
He's not the only Skybus refugee moving overseas, either, it seems. Marla Matzer Rose at the Columbus Dispatch reports that some of the defunct airline's pilots are now working in China. Maybe they'll get rated to fly those nifty new ARJ21s?
Our last few trips have been sorely lacking in British reality TV quotient, so we're seriously considering booking a flight on CelebAir, the star-stocked charter carrier making flights between the UK and Southern Europe this fall for a new show on ITV2.
Monarch Airlines is handling booking for the CelebAir flights, which are jetting to Cyprus, Portugal and Spain out of Gatwick. A seat between LGW and Malaga in September is a competitive £86 ($168) and getting from London to Tenerife will only run you £117 ($231).
There's no guarantee of which C-lister you might bump into at 34,000 feet, but you'll definitely get to ask at least one flying celeb to bring you an extra pillow. Plus, if you act ridiculous enough, you'll be on a reality TV show in Britain, and who wouldn't want that as a vacation souvenir?
The new airline Flydubai just announced that it bought 50 737-800s, a deal worth almost $4 billion at list prices. The carrier, owned by the government of Dubai, plans to start service by summer of 2009, meaning those Boeings will have to come off the assembly line soon. Rumor has it Flydubai is jumping the production queue by snapping up aircraft deliveries that American airlines have deferred.
Where will those 50 new planes fly?
To Dubai from the whole Middle East region, North and East Africa, Southeast Europe and the Indian subcontinent.
Specific routes still haven't been announced. As for fares, Flydubai says ticket prices will be "extremely competitive."
A British TV network is planning a reality show featuring 12 celebs working as flight attendants and gate agents on a carrier they're calling CelebAir.
The eight-part series, set to debut this fall, will follow the stars as they work actual flights carrying paying customers. They'll have to pass requirements set down by the UK's Civil Aviation Authority to work the cabin, though none of the celebs are slated to pilot the single CelebAir plane.
While no names have been confirmed just yet, Gridskipper is hoping that Paris and Nicole will be on board. We can only assume that's because of this.
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