People Express
People Express Airlines, aka
PEOPLExpress, was a
no-frills airline that operated from
1981 to
1987.
The company was founded by
Don Burr,
Gerry Gitner and several others, who resigned from
Frank Lorenzo's Texas International in order to do so: Burr was influenced by
Freddie Laker's forays into low-cost air travel during the
1970s. Terminal space was leased at
Newark Airport's long abandoned North Terminal. The upper levels were used as corporate headquarters in order to save money.
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PEOPLExpress Livery Colors |
People Express was launched on
April 30,
1981 with service from
Newark to
Buffalo,
Columbus, and
Norfolk, Virginia. Despite an accident at a neighboring
Conrail freight yard that year, which caused an evacuation of the North Terminal and shut down the airline's operations on
July 22, People Express grew rapidly, adding flights to
Florida by the end of the year. On
May 26,
1983, PEOPLExpress began non-stop service from
Newark to London's
Gatwick Airport with a leased
Boeing 747-227B previously operated by
Braniff International Airways. Flights were priced at $149 each-way and upon launch, became an instant success with all flights sold-out for several months within 24 hours of being offered. Flights were paid for on board the aircraft.
In
1985, People Express bought out
Denver-based
Frontier Airlines. The combined company became the
United States' fifth largest airline, with flights to most major U.S. cities, as well as an additional transatlantic route to
Brussels. People Express also purchased
Britt Airways and
Provincetown-Boston Airlines (PBA) during this period, both small carriers with routes in the midwest, northeast, and Florida.
The aggressive purchasing spree placed an enormous debt burden on the carrier at the same time major legacy carriers' improved yield management schemes enabled them to compete better with People Express on fares. Furthermore, integrating Frontier's operations caused labor struggles with the newly-absorbed airline, and the change to a low-fare, no-frills mentality alienated Frontier's passengers.
The failed integration and enormous debt stretched People Express too far, and in 1986 the company started seeking buyers for part, or all, of the airline. A deal to sell Frontier off to
United Airlines fell through, and in the end People Express was forced to sell itself entirely to Texas Air Corp. People Express ceased to exist as a carrier on
February 1,
1987, when its routes and assets were merged into the operations of
Continental Airlines, another Texas Air subsidiary.
People Express was often called "Air Bulgaria" by many air travellers. This was a sarcastic reference comparing People Express' service to the poor customer service associated with
Eastern Bloc countries during the
Cold War, and should not be confused with
Bulgaria Air (which was started in 2002).
Homer Simpson mentions People Express in episode 9F21 of
The Simpsons while recalling events of the 1980's, "...People Express introduced a generation of hicks to plane travel".
*
A Brief History of People Express*
The Airchive-People Express Timetables*
People Express' Model T*
Aviation Safety Network - People Express*
PEOPLExpress, AirTransportBiz, Alain Mengus, June 2002
