America’s most persistent attempt at starting a new airline is out there again, looking for crowdfunding to get off the ground. First as Family Airlines, and since 2010 as Avatar Airlines, they’ve been trying for take-off since 1992, with plans for an all-747 fleet serving high-density routes with ultra low fares, as low as $19.
In past attempts, the founders looked for conventional investors, but got in trouble over accusations of selling unregistered stock and were forced to return money and pay penalties. This time, they’re into crowdfunding, but not the usual route like Indiegogo, where they apparently wore out their welcome. They’ve got their own site, helpavatarfly.com
The same managers and owners have tried in 2008 and 2010 as well, despite the founder, Barry Michaels, having been “warned off” by regulators after being found guilty of securities violations in the first attempt. This time, Michaels is still around, but the official leader is a former TWA vice-president.
They’d have good reason to be called pioneers, though. Long before the current crop of ultra-low-cost carriers, they planned to make money by selling ads inside and outside the planes and to sell lots of extras—although they’re still promising free baggage. They also proposed a unique form of inflight entertainment: hiring aspiring performers as cabin crew and having them put on mid-air shows!
Ultimately, though, the question remains (aside from regulatory issues): Can you keep 747s full enough at very low prices to make any money? The company has repeatedly said it could, but its calculations are based on 100% of the seats being sold—and that’s a huge assumption in an era where other airlines are carefully limiting capacity. Putting thousands more seats on the most popular routes doesn’t sound like a best bet.
For more details, see Airways News or this recent USA Today report. Photo: Wikimedia / Torsten Maiwald
