Jetsgo
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JetsgoLogo.gif
Jetsgo was a Canadian low-cost carrier based in Montreal, which served 19 destinations across Canada, 10 destinations in the United States, and 12 scheduled weekend charter destinations in the Caribbean. Jetsgo abruptly ended service and entered bankruptcy protection on March 11, 2005, leaving thousands of passengers stranded, right at the beginning of the busy March Break travel season.
Soon after its demise, the company pledged to make a comeback as a charter-only airline, but on May 13, 2005, the airline officially declared bankruptcy, cancelled plans to relaunch service, and began the process of liquidation.
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Fleet
Jetsgo operated a fleet of 15 McDonnell-Douglas MD83 and 15 Fokker F100; five more Fokker 100s were due for delivery in 2005. All aircraft were configured in an "all-economy" setting typical of low-cost carriers. Jetsgo also had special "comfort plus" sections on most of their planes which featured more leg room on seats A and B in rows 1 - 12, as well as no middle seat.
Staff
The following is a list of employees employed at the time of the airline's insolvency:
- 1,200 full-time
- 1,350 part-time
- 550 pilots and flight attendants
- 430 maintainence and ramp crew
- 220 customer service representatives
Source: Toronto Star March 14 ,2005 p A7
History
Jetsgo was launched on June 12, 2002 and abruptly ceased operations on March 11, 2005. The airline was Canada's third largest airline at the time with up to 10% of the domestic market. Expert analysts widely blame the airline itself for poor management. Founder Michel Leblanc had previously founded Royal Airlines, which he later sold to Canada 3000.
Destinations
Canada
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- Newfoundland
- Nova Scotia
- New Brunswick
- Prince Edward Island
- Ontario
- Quebec
- Saskatchewan
United States of America
Jetsgo was in competition with other carriers, such as Air Canada, WestJet, Canjet, American Airlines, and United Airlines.
Charter operations
Jetsgo also operated weekend scheduled charter services from Toronto and Montreal to destinations in:
Cuba
- Cayo Coco
- Havana
- Manzanillo
- Santa Clara
- Santiago
- Varadero
The Dominican Republic
Mexico
Bankruptcy
On March 11, 2005, Jetsgo abruptly announced that it had ceased operations. The action stranded hundreds of passengers in airports and at their travel destinations with no way home, the defunct airline having made no arrangements with other carriers to handle their passengers. This occurred on the Friday morning before the March Break holiday season, one of the busiest air travel days in 8 of 10 provinces. 1200 employees also lost their jobs.
Jetsgo accumulated $55 million in debt in the last eight months before it closed abruptly.
Employees were finally paid for the time prior to the airline's shutdown on March 14, 2005.
Safety concerns
A day earlier, Transport Canada said that investigators found issues with the operating methods of Jetsgo. The deficiencies were discovered during "a special inspection" into engine problems revealed after a forced landing in January 2005.
Here is a list of incidents reported about Jetsgo:
- Year # of incidents
- 2002 - 5
- 2003 - 15
- 2004 - 32
- 2005 - 7
- Total (2002-2005): 60
Source: Transportation Safety Board of Canada / Toronto Star March 17, 2005 p C9
Other information
IATA Code
Jetsgo used the IATA designator code SG.
ICAO Code
Jetsgo used the ICAO designator code JGO.
External links
- Jetsgo Airline Website (http://www.jetsgo.net)
- Canada.com Jetsgo announces it is ceasing operations immediately (http://www.canada.com/businesscentre/story.html?id=440d57c4-52ca-4420-8d43-f9f81a4da212)
- CTV.ca Timeline of events in Jetsgo's history (http://www.ctv.ca/generic/WebSpecials/jetsgo/timeline.html)
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