PEOPLExpress is turning into people distress, as the carrier allegedly had not paid approximately $100,000.00 in passenger facility charges at the Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport terminal where the flights of the airline are based, resulting in the Peninsula Airport Commission giving notice for the airline to leave and perhaps sounding the death knell for the struggling carrier.
According to this article written by Dave Ress of the Daily Press in Newport News, “The money has already been collected from passengers and is supposed to be passed on to the airport to help finance construction and improvements, airport executive director Ken Spirito said.”
All service was suspended by PEOPLExpress on September 26, 2014 and was supposed to be reinstated on October 16, 2014, according to this article posted by Ed Pizzarello of Pizza In Motion. “Trying to run an airline is hard. Trying to run an airline with 2 planes is harder. Having no backup plane seems like career/investor money suicide.”
PEOPLExpress had already been experiencing problems even before the announcement this past June that it was officially launching service from Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport, as as the airline reportedly agreed without admitting fault to pay a $10,000.00 fine imposed by the United States Department of Transportation as a result of a promotional effort two years ago where you could sign up as a lifetime member of its Club Travelati frequent flier loyalty program for only $19.00 and receive such benefits as a souvenir pin, access to significantly discounted sales, and deals from the carrier once it actually launched its first flight. All content related to Club Travelati was eventually removed from its official Internet web site.
Jeggrey Erickson — who is the chief executive officer of PEOPLExpress — reportedly claims to not have heard about the notice to vacate. The apparent goal of the airline was to resume service in time for the Thanksgiving holiday; but that appears more and more unlikely with each passing day.
Rather, it seems more likely that PEOPLExpress has died once again — probably even before it launched. “If you look up ‘temporarily suspending operations’ in the airline euphemism dictionary, you’ll likely find a picture of a dead airline,” wrote Ed.
It appears that he was correct.
Warning: Do not read on if you do not want to read a digression of mine which has nothing to do with this story: I personally would have called the newspaper in Newport News the Newport News News; or perhaps just the Newport News instead of the Daily Press.
I will never forget that the news team at a television station in South Florida had two men named Frank Forte and Dwight Lauderdale on its staff. I would have paired them up at the anchor desk and called the news program The Forte Lauderdale Report. What a blown opportunity that was…
…as well as when Dana Fowle joined WAGA-TV Channel 5 Eyewitness News — I believe it might have already become Fox 5 News at that time — while Cynthia Good was still an anchorwoman on the weekends. I would have paired them up at the anchor desk and called the news program The Good and Fowle Report.
Maybe this is why I am not a program director at a local television station pertaining to the news.
By the way, Dana Fowle is the investigative reporter who did a now-famous report pertaining to the cleanliness of drinking glasses found in hotel rooms…
