Public charter carrier WinAir Airlines said Wednesday it will add another 10 flights to its daily schedule between Salt Lake City and Southern California, bringing the total to 24 when the additional service begins on Sunday.
"We've received a flood of calls from people requesting flights," said Leon Christensen, president of the fledgling airline based at the General Aviation terminal on the east side of Salt Lake City International Airport."We find ourselves in a great position to expand our service rapidly to better respond to the needs of our customers," said Christensen.
Founded last year as a charter service, WinAir Airlines began daily flights to Long Beach. Calif., on Nov. 2. The expanded service will include flights from Long Beach to Oakland, Calif. All WinAir flights are sold as direct-sale public charters
Kelly Archibald, director of marketing, said the airline expects to be operating 29 daily flights between Salt Lake City and Long Beach by March.
The airline currently has some 500 employees and operates seven Boeing 737s in the 200, 300 and 400 series. The company said it is currently in the process of acquiring two more 737 airplanes.
WinAir bills itself as a "better flying alternative" to Southern California, vowing it maintains "a commitment to fair pricing on airfares."
WinAir also makes stops in Las Vegas and in Sacramento.