The Airline industry is in a period of great turmoil, with unstable fuel costs, an uncertain political outlook, and a general feeling of uncertainy, the airlines have all suffered greatly to compete, and some have proven themselves unable to survive. Unfortunately, because the airlines are struggling to compete, they are cutting back on services once expected by the customer. Airlines have been forced to cut back frequent flyer programs, to cut back on in-flight catering, and in an effort to make their planes go out with as much revenue as possible, they have cut back on seat pitch and added extra seats in the economy cabins. Let's face it, flying today is not what it used to be, what once was a unique experience is now like getting on a bus, except sometimes the bus is nicer. What do you expect when you step onto an airplane? We at Cloud 9 are here to change your perception when it comes to flying, our goal is to put the unique experience back into travel, and to do it affordably. Gone are the days of Cattle-Car flying from New York to Los Angeles, the days of comfort and style for all passengers have returned. When you fly with us, you'll be flying on Cloud 9!
Our interiors will have neon blue and red fluorescent tube lighting running the length of the fuselage where the overhead bins meet the ceiling and walls, and there will be soft white with subtle blue tones in the rest of the interior lighting. The overhead reading lights will not be the harsh orange/yellow, instead they will be a soft white. All cabins will have 2 classes, with first class flying plush blue leather seats and a 40 pitch (no, I'm not insane). The Economy cabin will fly with a 35 pitch in blue fabric seating. On average, there will be 5% fewer seats than other airlines, to extend legroom and make the flying experience more enjoyable.
We will be based at Colorado Springs, with our central connecting hub at Colorado Springs (COS), additional hubs for east coast connections at Nashville (BNA) and West Coast connections at Sacramento (SMF).
A brief Description of our routemap (mainline):
Nonstop From Sacramento hub (SMF):
Portland (PDX)
Seattle-Tacoma (SEA)
San Francisco (SFO)
Ontario, California (ONT)
Boise, Idaho (BOI)** - Continue to Minneapolis St. Paul (MSP)
Las Vegas (LAS)
Phoenix (PHX)**
Vail, Colorado (EGE)
Denver (DEN)
Colorado Springs (COS)*
Nashille (BNA)*
Dallas- Ft Worth (DFW) - Continue to New Orleans (MSY)**
Houston Hobby (HOU) - Continue to New Orleans (MSY)**
Nonstop from Colorado Springs hub (COS):
Denver (DEN)
Boise, Idaho (BOI)** - Continue to Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) OR Continue to Portland (PDX)
Portland (PDX)
Sacramento (SMF)*
San Francisco (SFO)
Ontario, California (ONT)
Las Vegas (LAS)
Phoenix (PHX)**
Tuscon, Arizona (TUS)
Durango, Colorado (DRO)
Amarillo, Texas (AMA)
New Orleans (MSY)**
Dallas- Fort Worth (DFW)- Continue to New Orleans (MSY)**
Houston Hobby (HOU)- Continue to New Orleans (MSY)**
Kansas City (MCI)
Saint Louis- Lambert (STL)
Nashville (BNA)
Tampa, Florida (TPA)**
Chicago Midway (MDW)
Detroit (DTW)
Minneapolis- Saint Paul (MSP)
Columbus, Ohio (CMH)
From Nashville hub (BNA):
New York Laguardia (LGA)
Philadelphia (PHL)
Washington National (DCA)
Charlotte, North Carolina (CLT)
Jacksonville, Florida (JAX)
Orlando (MCO)
Atlanta (ATL) Continue to Tampa (TPA)** OR Continue to New Orleans (MSY)**
Houston Hobby (HOU)
Dallas- Fort Worth (DFW)
Memphis (MEM) Continue to Little Rock, Arkansas (LIT)
Colorado Springs (COS)*
Boise, Idaho (BOI)**
Saint Louis Lambert (STL)
Kansas City (MCI)
Minneapolis- Saint Paul (MSP)
Chicago Midway (MDW)
Columbus, Ohio (CMH)
Detroit (DTW)
Sacramento (SMF)*
New Orleans (MSY)**
*Denotes hub
**Denotes focus city
Our initial fleet will consist of the 717-200 as our base mainline aircraft, with the Dash 8 Q200 providing the regional and express flying (interiors same as mainline). After expansions, we will fly the Beech 1900 on regional, the Dash 8 Q200 on express, and our mainline will consist of the Boeing 717-200, 737-700, 757-200, and 767-300. As many aircraft as possible will be new aircraft, however because the 757 line is shut down, we will fly used aircraft of that type.