 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | June 1, 1998 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | December 2001 (re-integrated into US Airways) | ||||||
| Hubs | Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Dividend Miles | ||||||
| Parent company | US Airways Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | Arlington, Virginia | ||||||
| Key people | S. Michael Scheeringa (Vice President) | ||||||
MetroJet was a no-frills airline brand operated as a wholly owned division of US Airways from 1998 until 2001.
After the conclusion of painstaking labor negotiations in 1997, US Airways sought to head off burgeoning competition from low-cost carriers in its strongest region, the Northeastern United States. [1] Competitor Southwest Airlines was encroaching from its base in the west as were Delta Express and AirTran Airways from the South. [2] Like them it would offer a single class of service, operate a single type of aircraft, which consisted of the Boeing 737-200, and fly a limited network, based at the airline's Baltimore hub. Like similar projects from traditional carriers, including Continental Lite, Delta Express, and Shuttle by United, it would participate in the parent airline's frequent flyer program and other systems. [3]
MetroJet was launched on June 1, 1998, flying from its base at Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Cleveland, Ohio, Providence, Rhode Island, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Manchester, New Hampshire. [4] It began with five dedicated aircraft, repainted in a distinctive livery with a red and gray fuselage, and the traditional blue tail with the US Airways logo. [3] It was slated for a measured expansion over the next two years that eventually included flights from Washington Dulles International Airport and several point-to-point operations, [5] [6] with an emphasis on connecting Northeastern passengers to destinations in Florida. [7]
MetroJet operations did not improve US Airways's loss-making record. Many of MetroJet's passengers were cannibalized from other US Airways operations, such as its major presence at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Its aircraft were among the oldest and least fuel efficient in US Airways's fleet, and like its parent its labor costs were among the highest in the industry. Meanwhile, it faced cutthroat competition with Southwest, its main competitor at BWI. [8] In an October 28, 2001 interview with Business Travel News, CEO David Siegel revealed that MetroJet's average cost per available seat mile was 8 cents, compared to 6 cents for Southwest and 10 cents for mainline US Airways.
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, US Airways was disproportionately affected by Washington National Airport's extended closure. The resulting financial disaster precipitated the closure of the airline's MetroJet network, which led to the closing of the subsidiary's primary operating base at Baltimore-Washington International Airport and the furloughing of thousands of employees.
US Airways invoked a force majeure clause in its labor contracts to close the operation, announced on September 24. [9] [10] The airline also largely ended its Baltimore hub, which it had inherited from an earlier merger with Piedmont Airlines. [11] Once the largest carrier there, its number of scheduled flights had fallen by 60 percent by the time the last MetroJet 737 was retired in December.
MetroJet fleet included:
Washington Dulles International Airport, typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or Dulles, is an international airport in the Mid-Atlantic United States in Loudoun County and Fairfax County, Virginia, 26 miles (42 km) west of downtown Washington, D.C.
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, commonly referred to as Baltimore/Washington International Airport, BWI, and BWI Marshall, is an international airport in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, located 9 miles (14 km) south of downtown Baltimore and 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Washington, D.C.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, referred to colloquially as National Airport, Reagan, Reagan National, or simply DCA, is an airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. It is the smaller of two airports owned by the federal government and operated by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) that serve the Washington metropolitan area around Washington, D.C.; the larger is Dulles International Airport about 25 miles (40 km) to the west in Fairfax and Loudoun counties. The airport is 5 miles (8.0 km) from downtown Washington, D.C.
Long Island MacArthur Airport, formerly known as Islip Airport, is a public airport in Ronkonkoma, New York, United States. The town of Islip, New York, owns and operates the airport, which serves about two million airline passengers a year, as well as general aviation. Long Island MacArthur Airport (LIMA) covers 1,311 acres and has three runways and two helipads.
Independence Air was a low-cost airline, owned by FLYi, Inc., headquartered in the Loudoun Gateway Corporate Center in Dulles, Virginia, United States that operated from 1989 until 2006. Its route network focused on the east coast of the United States, but it also extended to the west coast. The route network was based at Washington Dulles International Airport.
Richmond International Airport is a joint civil-military airport in Sandston, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community. The airport is about 7 miles (11 km) southeast of downtown Richmond, the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Richmond International Airport is the busiest airport in central Virginia and the fourth-busiest in the state behind Washington Reagan, Washington Dulles, and Norfolk International. RIC covers 2,500 acres of land.
Key West International Airport is an international airport located in the City of Key West in Monroe County, Florida, United States, 2 miles east of the main commercial center of Key West.
Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport is an airport located within Eglin Air Force Base, adjacent to the city of Valparaiso and near the cities of Destin and Fort Walton Beach, in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. The airport was previously named Northwest Florida Regional Airport until February 17, 2015, and Okaloosa Regional Airport until September 2008.
Melbourne Orlando International Airport is a public airport 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of downtown Melbourne, in Brevard County, Florida, United States, and 50 miles (80.5 km) southeast of Orlando, located on central Florida's Space Coast. The airport is reached by NASA Boulevard. It is governed by a seven-member board which is appointed by the Melbourne City Council and the private sector. The airport budget is part of the Melbourne municipal budget; the airport receives no local tax dollars. The projected expenses for 2010 were $14.1 million. The executive director of the airport is Greg Donovan, A.A.E.
AirTran Airways was a low-cost U.S. airline that was originally headquartered in Orlando, Florida, and ceased operation following its acquisition by Southwest Airlines.
New York Air was a low-cost American airline owned by Texas Air Corporation and based at Hangar 5 at LaGuardia Airport in Flushing, Queens, New York. It ceased operations on February 1, 1987, in a merger with Continental Airlines.
Ted was one of two airline divisional brands of United Airlines. It targeted vacation locations primarily served by the low cost airline market, in contrast to the company's high-end premium transcontinental brand, United p.s.. "Ted" comes from the last three letters in the United brand name. United marketed Ted anthropomorphically and attempted to personify Ted; it used phrases such as Meet Ted or I've Met Ted.
Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport is in Newport News, Virginia, United States, and serves the Hampton Roads area along with Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk. The airport is owned and operated by the Peninsula Airport Commission, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia. PHF covers 1,800 acres.
Midway Airlines was a United States airline based in Morrisville, North Carolina, between Raleigh and Durham. The airline operated between 1993 and 2003.
Presidential Airways was an airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Washington Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia. It was founded in 1985 by Harold J. (Hap) Pareti, formerly an officer at People Express Airlines, known as PEOPLExpress a low-cost carrier, with Boeing 737-200 service from Washington Dulles to Boston Logan in Massachusetts commencing October 10 of that year. A small fleet of B737-200 jetliners were initially operated by the airline.
Manchester–Boston Regional Airport, commonly referred to as Manchester Airport, is a public use airport 3 miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Manchester, New Hampshire, United States on the border of Hillsborough and Rockingham counties. It is owned by the City of Manchester, and is in the southern part of the city on the border with Londonderry, New Hampshire.
Laker Airways (Bahamas) was an airline founded in 1992, which operated until 2005.
Delta Express was a no-frills "airline within an airline" brand owned and operated by Delta Air Lines from 1996 to 2003. The airline was headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
Song, LLC, was a low-cost air service within an airline brand owned and operated by Delta Air Lines from 2003 to 2006. All Song flights were operated by Delta. Song's main focus was on leisure traffic between the Northeastern United States and Florida, a market where it competed with JetBlue Airways. It also operated flights between Florida and the West Coast, and from the Northeast to the West Coast.
Portland International Jetport is a public airport two miles (3 km) west of downtown Portland, Maine, United States. It is owned and operated by the City of Portland. A portion of the Jetport's property, including the main runway, is located within the neighboring city of South Portland. PWM covers 726 acres of land.
Oneworld member | |||||||
| Mergers and acquisitions |
| ||||||
| Facilities | |||||||
| Programs | |||||||
| Brands | |||||||
| Incidents |
| ||||||
| People | |||||||
| Organizations |
| ||||||
| Related | |||||||
