PEOPLExpress has canceled all flights from Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport amid issues with their aircraft.
Last week, one of their two aircraft was damaged by a vendor-operated truck. The second aircraft is now having maintenance issues.
Below is a statement from PEOPLExpress:
Newport News, Va. – PEOPLExpress today announced that it is temporarily suspending service effective immediately and plans to re-launch on or about Oct. 16.
Recent aircraft and crew availability and maintenance issues, including an aircraft recently damaged by a vendor’s truck, an engine change and a lack of a planned spare aircraft, have made it challenging to operate a full schedule, preventing us from delivering the passenger experience we are striving for.
We are currently processing refunds for passengers for flights booked through Oct. 15, which will take five to seven business days. For reservations beyond Oct. 15, passengers will receive a notification by e-mail as soon as our service resumption plans are in place.
PEOPLExpress has successfully served 55,000 passengers on 817 flights since launching service on June 30, demonstrating the need for additional non-stop air service to underserved markets as a result of airline industry consolidation.
Our customers have been very receptive and supportive of our service from the beginning but not being able to complete all of our scheduled flights has been inconsistent with our brand promise to provide a fun, creative and innovative approach to air travel. This difficult business decision affects thousands of loyal customers, and we apologize for the sudden nature of our temporary suspension and thank people for their understanding and support.
We are still committed to restoring the concepts of respect, value and excitement to the air travel experience but to do so successfully we need to enhance our platform to operate aircraft not just safely but also with the ability to provide consistently outstanding schedule integrity.
We still intend to launch previously announced service to Orlando and Charleston, W.Va., starting Oct. 16.
PEOPLExpress is grateful for the support of our investors, the airports we serve, our nearly 35,000 Facebook fans, our vendors and people from all over the country who have expressed excitement about our mission to make air travel more accessible and affordable.
We also are especially appreciative of the tireless work of our energetic and passionate employees.
Customers can e-mail us with concerns at customerrelations@flypex.com or visit http://www.flypex.com.
We will have no additional comment at this time.
