Air Gumbo
to Spice-up the Rebuilding of New Orleans
01/31/06
LAFAYETTE, LA – Even after Hurricane Katrina,
potential employees continue to post résumés
to Air Gumbo’s website like never before. “Since
the year started, we have had more than a hundred
and fifty percent increase in applicants posting
resumes. That’s a pretty amazing show of confidence
in Air Gumbo, considering that the year has just
begun,” states Ralston Champagnie, CEO of New
Orleans’s–based upstart airline, Air
Gumbo.
Air Gumbo formally motioned to support Virgin America’s
application to the U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT) earlier this month. According to Champagnie,
although Virgin America announced that it would offer
service from San Francisco to New Orleans, Virgin
America would not have any significant competitive
effect on Air Gumbo. Like Virgin America, Air Gumbo’s
intention is to establish a strong design-centric
brand in the U.S. airline industry. “Our experiential
brand is unique in that it mirrors the uniqueness
of New Orleans and its culture. When Virgin America
enters the market, they will certainly shake-up the
troubled legacy carriers and further fragment the
market,” states Champagnie. All legacy carriers
supported Continental Airline’s motion to DOT
seeking to halt Virgin America’s application
process.
“
Our biggest disappointment in 2005 was with the Louisiana
Department of Economic Development (LED),” said
Champagnie. Air Gumbo provided LED with a comprehensive
business plan, which included a DOT application and
a family assistance plan. Also included in the plan
were actual aircraft performance analysis and economic
data, provided by Bombardier Aerospace's airline
marketing department, of Air Gumbo’s intended
route structure and frequency, etc., as well as Air
Gumbo's strategic marketing plan containing detailed
cost and revenue assumptions, as required by the
DOT’s economic fitness standards.
In spite of that, and in spite of the fact that Air
Gumbo has an excellent working relationship with
Bombardier, LED’s secretary, Mike Olivier,
said the agency did not have the capacity to evaluate
Air Gumbo’s business plan. Mr. Champagnie blasted
the secretary’s statement as anti-entrepreneurial,
unprofessional and anti-economic development, since
LED had the plan for close to four months. “That
statement reflects the leadership of LED. The LED
staff that evaluated Air Gumbo’s business plan
claimed it’s a actionable model,” states
Champagnie.
Air Gumbo’s business model, which focuses on
using newer generation regional jets, is unlike the
failed Independence Air’s model. “We
would serve the entire state of Louisiana with point-to-point
air travel, rather than offering point-to-point from
a major metropolitan city,” states Champagnie.
Many airline industry experts would agree that the
70– to 100–seat regional jets would reshape
the U.S. market place. This is because the cost per
trip (for a one- to one-and-a-half-hour flight) to
operate a CRJ900 is approximately a little over one-third
the cost to operate the larger B737. “Most
tourists that visit Louisiana are originating from
cities that are within an hour and a half away, and
that’s Air Gumbo’s primary target market.
That’s the kind of business plan we presented
to LED”, according to Champagnie. Latest trends
indicate that regional airlines are very profitable.
One thing that differentiates Air Gumbo’s “one-frill” business
model from those of the common “no-frill” regional
airlines is its food. Air Gumbo plans to offer distinctive
Louisiana cuisine, such as gumbo and jambalaya, onboard.
In recent years, many airlines eliminated food from
their regional flights. Now many are bringing it
back after recognizing its utility as a competitive
advantage.
Air Gumbo is proud to have proactively included a
scenario analysis addressing a situation like the
aftermath of Katrina in Air Gumbo’s business
plan. “It not only reflects the serious thinking
behind our plan, but also shows why we had to launch
our secondary operation at Baton Rouge and Shreveport
concurrently with our main operation at New Orleans.” Both
Baton Rouge and Shreveport have seen significant
population growth in the aftermath of Katrina.
Even before Hurricane Katrina, Air Gumbo’s
website spoke of the company as being an economic
engine moving the state towards greater self-reliance.
However regrettable, it seems sometimes it takes
an event such as Katrina for these benefits to become
evident. In the rebuilding of both New Orleans and
Louisiana’s economy, which heavily depends
on tourism, no one can deny the economic benefit
that Air Gumbo would contribute to the process. Air
Gumbo would extend tourists’ Louisiana experience,
thus maximizing the utility of their travel dollars.
With a sound business model, Air Gumbo appears to
be well positioned for success. Based on the following
post from its January 16th Hot Flash on AviationPlanning.com,
The Boyd Group, a consultant and forecaster for the
aviation industry, apparently agrees. “As for
service standards, Air Gumbo is reaching back, way
back. Again quoting their website: ‘...Air
Gumbo is a gumbo-like mix of airline models: a cup
of Braniff, a dash of People Express ...’ … That
oughta get investors banging on Air Gumbo's front
door.”
Air Gumbo is a worthy idea that deserves attention,
patience, investment and nurturing to establishing
it as a profitable business and benefit to Louisiana
communities. It appears Air Gumbo is at the forefront
of a new creative economy.
About Air Gumbo - Air Gumbo, Inc., d/b/a Air
Gumbo, is a low-cost, low-fare, one-frill airline.
With
a design-centric culture and experiential branding,
the carrier would serve Louisiana directly to destinations
within the United States, Canada, the Caribbean,
Central and South America. Its motto is “Louisiana’s
culture in the sky” and Air Gumbo’s invited
guests would be treated to a Louisiana party.
Please visit www.airgumbo.com for more information
or call Air Gumbo’s Information Center at (337)
781-0034. Email inquiries can be sent to media.relations@AirGumbo.com.
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