Public charter airline JSX plans to increase its number of flights per month from about 2,400 currently to 4,000 next year.
The company, which rebranded to JSX from JetSuiteX in August 2019, also plans to add in-flight wi-fi to its aircraft starting in 2020, says chief executive Alex Wilcox at the APEX conference in Los Angeles on 9 September.
Founded in 2016, JSX flies Embraer ERJ-135 and ERJ-145 aircraft in 30-seat configurations from private terminals. The company flies regional routes between Burbank, Las Vegas, Orange County, Napa/Concord, Oakland, Seattle-Boeing Field and Phoenix.
To facilitate growth, JSX says it will continue to build its fleet with ERJ-135 and ERJ-145 jets. It has 14 ERJ aircraft in its fleet right now and did not say how many it plans to have by next year. The company says it has set a target of 100 jets by 2023.
The public charter airline credits its growth to providing passengers with faster door-to-door travel times on short-haul routes, compared to flying aboard a regional airline or driving a car. It claims its prices are also lower than a charter or private jet.
“The big savings – the reason people fly after all – is to save time,” says Wilcox. He notes that JSX allows passengers to skip the typical Transportation Security Administration pre-flight security screening process and show up as late as 15 minutes before their flight.
JSX believes it is filling in a gap in the market.
“The short-haul market has really diminished in the last 10 years,” says Wilcox. The company points to a statistic showing there has been a 30% decrease in capacity on flights under 434nm (805km) by major carriers over the past decade.
Wilcox declines to say what cities JSX plans for its expansion next year. On 12 September, the public charter plans to start service between Phoenix and Las Vegas.
Update: Article was updated on 10 September with additional information about JSX’s fleet expansion and service start date between Phoenix and Las Vegas.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
