The new Pan American World Airways began operation on 26 September, and is to be followed into the air on 1 October by Delta Air Lines' new Delta Express low-cost operation. Rival ValuJet Airlines won US Department of Transportation (DoT) approval to resume flying on 30 September.
Initially, Pan Am is operating daily flights from New York Kennedy to Miami and Los Angeles, using three Airbus A300B4s. The Miami-based low-cost airline plans to add services and expand its fleet to nine aircraft within a year.
Delta Express operations are planned to begin with 62 daily non-stop flights between Orlando, eight cities in the north-east and Mid-West USA and four Florida destinations. The carrier will start services with 12 Boeing 737-200s, with single-class seating for 119 passengers. By 1 January, 1997, Delta plans to be operating 128 daily flights between ten north- east/Mid-West cities and five Florida destinations, using a dedicated fleet of 25 737-200s.
ValuJet plans to begin with 32 daily departures. The Atlanta, Georgia-based low-cost carrier will link Atlanta with three destinations in Florida and Washington Dulles, using McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s, ". . . increasing by 24 October to 102 daily departures linking Atlanta with 12 cities and using 15 DC-9-30s", it says.
Source: Flight International
