A new airline, GoJet, wants to take to the skies by next August flying Bombardier [BBD] CRJ 700s for United Express, but first it needs the blessing of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

GoJet will be a new subsidiary of St. Louis-based Trans States Holdings. GoJet Airlines LLC filed an application earlier this month with DOT seeking a certificate of public convenience and necessity. According to filing, GoJet has a letter of intent to purchase up to 30 70-seat RJs. Trans States officials had earlier confirmed that it had filed preliminary paperwork with regulators, and the long-time Embraer [ERJ] operator was indeed giving serious consideration to purchasing the Bombardier RJ (RAN, Dec. 6). GoJet intends to start flying two RJs on its initial routes and expand up to five planes within six months. The service agreement with United Airlines [UALAQ] provides for up to 10 aircraft with five operating in the first year. GoJet's United Express routes have not been announced.

GoJet has filed its agreements with both United and Bombardier with DOT, but it asked that these papers be sealed from the public docket. The service agreement with United will need the approval of the judge supervising United's bankruptcy proceedings.

Likewise, the privately held Trans States was successful in keeping its financials off the public docket.

While it is operating as subsidiary of Trans States Holdings, GoJet told DOT that it may outsource such services as accounting, information technology, public relations and training to either the holding company or its sibling carrier, Trans States Airlines.

As a unit of Trans States Holdings, GoJet lists CEO Hulas Kanodia as the managing director. It will tap the ranks of Trans States personnel to fill five key positions: director of operations, director of maintenance, director of safety, chief pilot and chief inspector.

Trans States is creating the separate airline because its code-share partnership with American Airlines [AMR] precludes it from operating 70-seat RJs either for American or any other carrier. A new airline operating under the holding company's umbrella gets around that clause which is based on the Allied Pilots Association contract with American. In addition to American and United, Trans States flies its ERJ 145s and BAe Jetstream 41s for US Airways [UAIRQ].

It currently flies United Express routes out of United hubs at Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.

GoJet's United routes do not include the 500 daily routes currently flown by Air Wisconsin. In November, United invited 10 regional airlines - its six current United Express partners and four other carriers - to bid on those routes now flown by Air Wisconsin. A "significant" number of carriers responded by the Dec. 10 deadline, according to a United spokesman, but the carrier won't say who submitted bids. DOT Docket: OST-04-19877.

Two Carriers Want To Cut Flights

Two regional carriers recently filed notices with DOT to drop Essential Air Service (EAS) flights due to continuing operating losses.

SkyWest [SKYW] wants to drop a portion of its Elko, Nev., to Salt Lake City service. The carrier said it can no longer make money on the Reno stopover leg flying a 30-seat Brasilia turboprop. In March 2003, SkyWest requested support from the EAS program in order to continue that route, but its application letter was never acted upon. It will drop the Reno stop by the end of February, and fly direct from Elko to Salt Lake. DOT Docket: OST-04-19821.

Great Lakes Airlines [GLUX] intends to reduce its daily Santa Fe, N.M., to Denver flights to two round-trips in January and end the service entirely by March. The carrier, which also has code-share arrangements with both United Airlines [UALAQ] and Frontier Airlines [FRNT] on these flights, said it cannot generate enough ticket revenue to cover its expenses. It now offers four daily roundtrip flights on a 19-seat Beech 1900D. While the flights are popular, it cannot charge enough to cover expenses. In November, the carrier had a 64 percent load factor, but it still lost $30,000. Great Lakes may route the flights through Albuquerque enroute to Denver as a way to maintain some air service to the popular tourist destination. DOT Docket: OST-04- 19825

License Revoked

The DOT has revoked the commuter air carrier authorization for Rio Grande Air, also known as Edelweiss Air, since the New Mexico-based carrier has not flown since June 22. While the carrier told the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that it hoped to be back in the air by the fall after restructuring its operations, it surrendered its air carrier certificate on Sept. 1. Edelweiss did not object when the FAA gave it notice that its operating authority would be revoked. DOT Docket: OST-04-19791.

DOT Told To Try Rewriting Regs

In early November, DOT published a set of new definitions for "commuter air carriers" as an attempt to streamline and eliminate duplicative filings with the FAA and DOT. In the only response filed before the Dec. 13 deadline, E. Paul Bailey, the FAA's former Part 121 director of operations, calls for scrapping the proposed amendments and going back to the drawing board.

"The current proposal is at best a half measure that seeks only to distinguish commuters as a sub-classification of a larger class of uncertified air carriers, presently titled, 'air taxi operators.' " The proposed measure "would further perpetuate a misclassification" of those air carriers who in 1995 were transitioned into Part 121 operators.

Since 1995, Bailey said, there are two distinct classes of commuter air carriers - those operating aircraft with 10 or more passengers under Part 121 and those flying nine or less passengers under Part 135.

"As a direct result, additional difficulties have arisen from continued usage of anachronistic DOT air operator terminology. This terminology, when juxtaposed with comparable descriptive terms by the FAA have resulted in a confusing labyrinth of duplicative and contradictory terms and definitions." DOT Docket: OST-04-19426-2.