ATLANTA — It seemed like a joke when Hooters Air launched 2 1/2 years ago.
"A restaurant getting into the airline business?" traveler Kary LeBlanc wondered at the time.
To make matters worse, the Atlanta-based restaurant chain, best known for its "Hooters Girls" in snug tank tops and orange hot pants, couldn't have picked a worse time to get into the business than the post-Sept. 11 travel slump."I thought it was a gag, that it would never last," said New York-based airline industry consultant Robert Mann.
Hooters Air has not only lasted, it's grown. The carrier quietly keeps adding flights, linking such places as Gary, Ind., and Allentown, Pa., with Orlando and Myrtle Beach, S.C., hometown of company founder Bob Brooks. Because the carrier flies to so many satellite airports, only a few Hooters Air flights compete directly with commercial airlines.
It's technically classified as a "public charter" carrier that takes reservations from individuals directly on its Web site. There are some advantages to being a charter, including fewer financial regulations, Mann said. Charters are, however, subject to the same safety regulations as commercial airlines. Hooters also owns a 15-year-old airline called Pace, which specializes in high-end charters for such groups as pro sports teams. Pace holds the operating certificates for both carriers.
In the first six months of the year, Pace had operating revenues of $26 million and posted a loss of $1.7 million. "If they do a good job for people and are predictable, maybe it has more legs than a lot of people gave them credit for," Mann said. Hooters Air now flies to 15 cities, including Nassau, Bahamas, and is eyeing other destinations in the United States and abroad, President Mark Peterson said.
The airline offers low fares, lower than competitors' in many cases, although they tend to use different airports. Hooters also has roomy leather seats and in-flight entertainment in the form of two scantily clad waitresses, in addition to the usual number of trained flight attendants.
Peterson rejects the suggestion that Hooters Air aims to become a small-scale, blue-collar JetBlue.
"We're not in this to take on the Southwests and the JetBlues of the world," he said. "If we can find something that works for Hooters and use the brand to provide some additional revenue, then that's what we'll do." Hooters Air's goal is to make money, not merely serve the marketing interests of the larger organization, he said.
One unusual consideration in adding Hooters Air destinations: whether the airport is near a lot of Hooters restaurants. "Florida is a big market; Chicago is a big market," Peterson said. "If a place is a great Hooters market, and we can provide some air service that hasn't been there before, and a better travel experience, then we'll look at starting service there."
No comments:
Post a Comment