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Platinum Jet?


Mitch Cronin

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I keep hearing dribbles about a new upstart flying YYC to YYZ but haven't seen anything yet.

Anybody know anything about this outfit?...

Platinum Jet Air?

The last that I heard - a few weeks ago - is deader than a doornail.

Owner is being sued by Field Aviation which did the retrofit of their F100s.

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Platinum Jet Air was intended to be an arrangement in which Corporate Express would opperate the Fokker 100's and Platinum Jet Air would charter the Fokkers from Corporate Express. While opperating the rest of the Platinum Jet Air Business.

This did two things, it took advantage of the Corporate Express OC, and it also protected Corporate Express in the event Platinum Jet Air was a flop. Both being owned by Corpac.

The feds nixed their plans, and Platinum Jet Air had to try to come up with an OC of its own.

This has been tried before and really hasn't worked.

Legend Airlines breifly opperated a VIP airline out of Love Field in Dallas, but shut down in a matter of months, and they were trying to do it in markets with far more money that Calgary-Toronto. And they were not trying to get customers to pay $20,000 upfront. Legend was also terrorized by DFW who thought they were violating their beloved Wright Ammendment, and faced serious competition from AA who introduced VIP Fokkers on their routes... and frequent business travellers love their FF points for taking the kids to Hawaii every year.

What it basically came down to was that they couldn't charge enough of a premium for their premium service to make money. And if you can't do it on Texas-LAX, you aren't going to be able to do it on YYC-YYZ.

It was also tried in Canada by Astoria and went nowhere, although they had fairly poor management in addition to trying to take the war to Air Canada on the golden triangle.

For the most part, domestic premium service is dead, in business, travel has become one of the first targets for cost-cutting, and for those still flying premium, it is hard to overcome their FF loyalties.

But for what its worth, their Fokker that has already been refitted is really something, I hope it goes to a good home intact.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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