US start-up carrier Crystal Airways aims to begin all business-class services using Boeing 757 and 767 twinjets from the US east coast by the middle of this year.
Tim Rivers, president and chief executive of Tampa, Florida-based Crystal, says flights will be launched from Tampa to Baltimore Washington International (BWI), and from BWI to San Diego and San Jose in California during the middle of this year. Services to Detroit and Minneapolis/St Paul will be added later.
Rivers recently secured $100 million from Seattle-based Capital Consulting Group and $60 million from private investors to launch the all business-class scheduled carrier. The US Federal Aviation Administration certification process began last year and Rivers is to apply for an operating certificate from the US Department of Transportation this month.
Plans for aircraft acquisition are under way, with the lease of four ex-El Al, Rolls-Royce RB211-powered 757-200s expected to be finalised in March. The carrier is exploring the lease of three 767-300ERs from Japan's Itochou Airlease for transcontinental flights. Crystal's 757s will be equipped with a 92-seat layout, while the 767s would accommodate up to 130 passengers. Rivers hopes to succeed where other all business-class airlines, such as MGM Grand, failed. The start-up plans to launch non-stop transcontinental service from BWI with an unrestricted fare of $570 one way.
Source: Flight International
