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Stalled start-up California Pacific Airlines wants to restart flights

Jan. 07, 2020
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2 min read
The first of the 72–passenger Ambraer 170 jets owned by California Pacific Airlines touches–down at
Stalled start-up California Pacific Airlines wants to restart flights
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Southern California-based California Pacific Airlines hopes to resume flying soon, more than a year after the start-up's short-lived first launch.

Based at McClellan-Palomar Airport (CLD) about halfway between Orange County and San Diego, the carrier has filed the initial paperwork with the U.S. Department of Transportation to resume flying. PaxEx.aero first reported the filing.

"Yes, yes we are planning to resume service. Definitely!" California Pacific founder Ted Vallas told PaxEx.aero.

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The start-up carrier briefly carried passengers on flights between Carlsbad and Las Vegas (LAS), Phoenix (PHX), Reno (RNO), and San Jose (SJC) in California with 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145 jets in November and December 2018. While it stopped flying in December, it officially ceased operations in January 2019.

California Pacific was in the works for years before its brief period in operation. Originally envisioned as an Embraer E-Jet operator with its first E170 arriving in 2012, the airline's attempt to secure an operating certificate met repeated delays prompting the return of the jet and ultimate decision to acquire Aerodynamics in late 2017 and begin using operations using that outfit's certificate.

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California Pacific has long pitched itself as an alternative to Southern California travelers who want to avoid potentially lengthy drives to either Orange County's John Wayne Airport (SNA) or San Diego International Airport (SAN). A proposed map in 2012 shows flights to major Western cities, including Las Vegas, Phoenix and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Related: Exciting new airline routes from December 2019 and beyond

Featured image by Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag

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