JetAmerica opens Toledo hub

SWANTON, Ohio - JetAmerica, a new low-cost air carrier, will soon offer flights out of Toledo Express Airport, joining two other low-cost air carriers flying out of the Glass City.

The airline, which made an official announcement Wednesday in Swanton, will begin nonstop service from Toledo to Newark, just outside of New York City, and Melbourne, Fla., on the Atlantic coast July 13.

Service to Minneapolis-St. Paul metroplex will be offered starting Aug. 14.

"I just hope the business folks and the leisure travelers here support us, because we'll keep growing if people here support us," said John Weilke, JetAmerica CEO.

JetAmerica, formerly known as Air Azul, is headed up by the founder of Skybus, an airline which went bankrupt in June 2008.

"It's time to take a risk," said Michael Stolarczyk, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority President. 'We need to get people flying again. We need to be able to offer an alternative to some of the larger airports in Ohio and Michigan, and also Indiana - and that's what we're doing."

The Clearwater, Fla.-based JetAmerica said 34 nonstop passenger flights a week will start July 13 in Toledo, South Bend, Ind., Melbourne, Fla.; Newark, N.J.; Minneapolis and Lansing, Mich. Twenty-eight flights will start or end at Newark Liberty International Airport.

JetAmerica's flights will be priced 50-70-percent lower than other major airlines. The airline announced that if you are one of the first nine to book a flight, you can secure your seat for only $9.

JetAmerica joins Allegiant Air, and DirectAir as three economical, no-frills air carriers to call Toledo Express home.