Pittsburgh International Airport will no longer be OneJet's only base of operations.
The regional startup airline that caters to business travelers will open a second base in Milwaukee, the carrier announced Tuesday.
Pittsburgh will remain the airline's largest operating base, and the airline will continue to expand service here, OneJet CEO Matthew Maguire said in a statement to the Trib.
“Milwaukee will be our secondary operating base, and we intend to grow it concurrently with our continued growth from Pittsburgh,” Maguire said.
Pittsburgh International officials said the announcement is good news.
“I think it shows his business model has been successful, which is a good thing,” airport spokesman Bob Kerlik said.
In May 2016, OneJet opened its first base of operations in Pittsburgh — its choice over Indianapolis and Memphis.
The airline signed an agreement to announce flights to 10 destinations by the end of this year on its seven-seater jets. In exchange, OneJet received $3 million in county and state grants and loans — the largest incentive the airport has awarded to an airline .
“I wanted to make sure he picked Pittsburgh,” airport CEO Christina Cassotis told the Trib in May. “So we created an incentive offer that would allow him to benefit from picking Pittsburgh... to base his operations here and to grow here faster than he would in any other market.”
So far, seven destinations have been announced from Pittsburgh, and six have started service. The airline plans to launch service to Providence, R.I., Oct. 25, about two months later than planned .
The airline — which offers twice-daily service on weekdays between Milwaukee and Pittsburgh — plans to launch service from Milwaukee to Columbus, Ohio, and Omaha, Neb., starting Nov. 1, the release said.
With Providence, the airline will have 180 flights a day in Pittsburgh. On Nov. 1, it plans to have a total of 60 weekly nonstop flights to and from Milwaukee.
“Pittsburgh remains by far our largest operating base and we fully intend to continue our expansion, including the announcement of three additional nonstop destinations this year, building upon our fantastic customer and employee base in the city,” Maguire said in a statement.
The airline could add another eight to 10 destinations from Milwaukee over the next year, OneJet CEO Matthew Maguire told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel .
It's unclear whether an agreement was signed or an incentive was provided.
Former CEO and chairman of Midwest Airlines Timothy Hoeksema invested in the airline and is leading the OneJet expansion in Milwaukee, the release said.
Original article can be found here ➤ http://triblive.com
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