ATLANTA, Aug. 3, 2014 — No frills airline PEOPLExpress has “returned” to the skies.
The low-budget airline, which began flying in June and shares the name, philosophy and logo of a carrier that went out of business 27 years ago, serves Newark, N.J.; Pittsburgh; Atlanta; West Palm Beach, Fla.; and Boston from its home base in Newport News, Va.
The airline, which for now is operated by Vision Airlines, plans to add service to New Orleans and Tampa, Fla., according to its website.
“People have been very receptive and supportive of our service,” Jeff Erickson, a long-time airline executive leading the PEOPLExpress start-up, said in a news release. “From the very beginning, PEOPLExpress was designed to provide a fun, creative and innovative approach to air travel to dispel the myth that low air fares have to mean low service or an impersonal experience.”
During the startup of the new airline, Vision Airlines is flying Boeing 737-400 aircraft on behalf of PEOPLExpress. The planes bear the logo of the popular 1980s carrier of the same name and feature a green livery.
The 1980s iteration of PEOPLExpress, also known as People Express Airlines, operated between 1981 and 1987. Continental Airlines, now United Airlines, absorbed PEOPLExpress in 1987; the current iteration of PEOPLExpress is not a corporate successor.
“Providing excellent customer service and more options to travelers is a top priority,” Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport General Manager Miguel Southwell said in a news release. “We are pleased to welcome back PEOPLExpress to Atlanta and to provide yet another destination served by the world’s busiest and most efficient airport.”
PEOPLExpress flew its first flights to and from Atlanta on Friday.
