April Ruciglliano
There is an airline company that has returned to the skies after a twenty seven year break. PeoplExpress was a discount airline company that operated between 1981 and 1987 before being bought and absorbed into Continental Airlines. The newer version of PeoplExpress had begun flying early this summer serving Newark, Boston, Pittsburg, West Palm Beach, Atlanta, and Newport News, Virginia. The company has been successful thus far as many of its customers are those that flew with the company during the 1980s when the company offered low-fares and the ability to pay cash for a ticket once seated on the aircraft. Now a new owner and once employee has taken up the reigns hoping to reignite the popularity with the once favored discount airline company.
The New PeoplExpress![PeoplExpress 1]()
The new PeoplExpress was founded by a former employee of the old PeoplExpress, Mike Morisi. Morisi had been planning on starting his own airline company which was originally intended to be called Freedom, but changed to PeoplExpress when the name was open to use during a serach at the patent office. Morisi has contributed the company’s start off success to the nostalgia between its current customers and the services that the company produces. The current company has been advertising and building itself up as a discount airline which has been offering service between some of the busiest airports on the eastern seaboard. Like many of its competitors the company has been charging some fees for services that once upon a time ago were free. PeoplExpress is charging its customers 15 dollars for their passengers to pick their own seats, 20 dollars to check and extra bag, and 25 dollars for carry-ons that are too big to fit beneath the seat. The company is looking to expand its reach by the end of August when the airline company will add New Orleans and St. Petersburg, Florida to its routes. The company has also made mention of its plans to add or even double its current fleet of Boeing 737s.
The company is currently still waiting on the official certification by the Federal Aviation Administration as a commercial carrier. Until the certification comes through, there is an ongoing agreement between PeoplExpress and Vision Airways which has engaged in what is call a wet lease. This agreement maintains that Vision Airways will be technically employing the pilots as well as the crew and maintaining the aircraft until the certification comes through and PeoplExpress can take off on its own. The company is expecting the certification to come through in just under 18 months, in which the wet lease will come to an end, and industry analysts believe that there will be no change in customer service or experience for customers.
The company currently offers 138 coach seats on each flight and offers its customers 12 wider seats with more leg room costing 59 dollars more each way. The in flight service is the same for all customers regardless of the seats they purchase. PeoplExpress is also charging their customers for every carryon bag they bring onto the plane. The current rates are 20 dollars for one bag, 25 dollars for the second bag, and 75 dollars for the third carryon bag brought on the airplane.
The Success So Far![PeoplExpress 2]()
The success so far for the newer more refurbished version of PeoplExpress has thus far been between the nostalgia factor of customer to the brand name. There haven’t really been any negative attitudes towards the company when it operated in the 1980s other than the company being absorbed into Continental airlines because of the lack of success in expanding its reach. In the 1980s, PeoplExpress had had issue when it was looking to expand its reach into other cities. The airline had successfully expanded into London, England but was sold off shortly after. The current leadership is eagerly looking to expand as well, having only been operating for the last two months but is being much more cautious in their approach towards expansion. Taking their expansion slowly, the company is seemingly only interested in expanding its reach into more domestic airports within the general range of its current occupying area. Success can be found in regional hubs as well as the airline is already servicing some of the most traveled area on the eastern seaboard.
The respect level that has been vocalized for PeoplExpress has not only come from customers talking about how excited they are to see the airline return. Pilots across the industry, some of which had worked for the original company back in the 1980s have voiced their excitement for the return of the company. Since discount airlines have become major players in the airline industry since the recession and downward slope of the economy, these discount airlines have the most to gain. PeoplExpress has shown the industry and customer support towards succeeding in this current market, and the leadership within the company continues to display their value on customer service which will help this brand grow rather quickly.
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