Winair Airlines, the little airline that could, decided it couldn't any longer Tuesday and shut down operations after its plan to attract new investment capital failed.
The Salt Lake City-based carrier began operations early last year as a charter service but converted to a scheduled airline in November with 14 daily flights between Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Oakland and Sacramento from its small hub at the airport in Long Beach, Calif."Winair has provided a much needed service to travelers throughout our route system and has been an integral part of Long Beach since we began air service last year. It is extremely disappointing that we are unable to continue our service to the community," said spokeswoman Kristy Ardizzone.
She said all passengers with confirmed reservations will be mailed full refunds within 10 to 14 days. Credit card purchasers will receive a refund to their cards.
Those passengers who have booked flights for upcoming trips are advised to contact their travel agent or another airline. Winair said it will try to get other airlines to help its passengers currently traveling with their return trips.
Richard I. Winwood, Winair's founder, said the company simply "ran out of financial fuel" after losing some $15 million in the venture.
The fledgling airline currently has about 350 employees, down from 500 last year. They were told Tuesday that they would receive their final paychecks next week.
Scott Slaymaker, chairman of the domestic travel committee of the Utah Air Travel Commission, termed the Winair shutdown "unfortunate and a loss for the city."
Slaymaker said Salt Lake has remarkably good air service for a city its size and that won't change with the departure of Winair. "But they made flying affordable to people who couldn't otherwise afford air travel."
He said the Air Travel Commission knew Winair was struggling but hoped the company would be able to survive even with its limited resources.
"It's a tough, expensive labor-intensive business running an airline. Just look back over the last 10 years at the low-cost carriers that litter the landscape and you'll know how hard it is."
Winwood was also a founder, in 1983 with long-time friend Hyrum Smith, of Franklin Quest Co., now Franklin Covey Co. Last year, Winwood termed his startup airline, "more than a business deal, it's a personal commitment" and put up $2 million and another $5.2 million in a line of credit.
The model for Winair was Morris Air, which also began life as a charter and later became a scheduled carrier before being acquired and merged into Southwest Airlines when the Dallas-based discount carrier moved into the Utah market.
The idea was to provide ultra-low-cost service to the Southern California market using two used but refurbished Boeing 737 jets configured in an all-coach, no-frills configuration.
In fact, many of Winair's employees were veterans of Morris Air but Winair also tried to fill the gaps created by the relocation of Champion Air out of Salt Lake City and the shutdown of Viscount Air, in Tucson, and Great American Airways, in Reno.
Two months ago, Chris Kunze, manager of the Long Beach Airport, said he was "thrilled" with the "success and rapid growth" of Winair, noting that passenger loads had increased from 33 percent in January to 64 percent in March, but the airport can accommodate only 41 flights per day.
After hearing of the shutdown Tuesday, he said Winair would be missed, noting that its presence had been good for Long Beach.