Former Global Crossing Airlines chief Ed Wegel’s new airline venture will be branded as Zoom, and initially use Embraer E-Jets.
Wegel had disclosed in March that he was aiming to start up a scheduled carrier, provisionally named Air Flo, which would use Airbus A220s.
But he states that the airline will “go with the name Zoom” and launch with E190s or E195s – the earlier version of the E-Jet, powered by General Electric CF34 engines.
He says the engine is “excellent” and that the twinjets will provide “great range”.
The airline remains interested in the A220, however, and Wegel states that it will “await” the Airbus model, suggesting an introduction “in a few years”.
He has not detailed a configuration for the E-Jets or the planned route network.
Wegel had previously signalled that the carrier would parallel the single-aisle route network of former Miami-based operator Air Florida.
He states that Zoom will “work closely” with another of his projects – the urban mobility provider UrbanLink, which aims to use Lilium Jet eVTOLs – to provide passenger connections, as well as a training avenue for future E-Jet and A220 pilots.
Zoom had been the name used by a Canadian low-fare carrier, which operated Boeing 757s and 767s on transatlantic routes, before it suspended operations in 2008, about six years after it emerged.
