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| Founded | June 1, 1998 (1998-06-01) | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | December 2001 (2001-12) (re-integrated intoUS Airways) | ||||||
| Hubs | Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Dividend Miles | ||||||
| Parent company | US Airways | ||||||
| Headquarters | Crystal City,Virginia,U.S. | ||||||
| Key people | S. Michael Scheeringa (Vice President) | ||||||
MetroJet was alow-cost airline brand operated as a wholly owned division ofUS Airways from 1998 until 2001.
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After the conclusion of painstaking labor negotiations in 1997, US Airways sought to head off burgeoning competition fromlow-cost carriers in its strongest region, theNortheastern United States.[1] CompetitorSouthwest Airlines was encroaching from its base in the west as wereDelta Express andAirTran Airways from theSouth.[2] Like them it would offer a single class of service, operate a single type of aircraft, which consisted of theBoeing 737-200, and fly a limited network, based at the airline'sBaltimore hub. Like similar projects from traditional carriers, includingContinental Lite, Delta Express, andShuttle by United, it would participate in the parent airline'sfrequent flyer program and other systems.[3]
MetroJet was launched on June 1, 1998, flying from its base atBaltimore-Washington International Airport toCleveland, Ohio,Providence, Rhode Island,Fort Lauderdale, Florida, andManchester, New Hampshire.[4] It began with five dedicated aircraft, repainted in a distinctive livery with ared andgray fuselage, and the traditional blue tail with the US Airwayslogo.[3] It was slated for a measured expansion over the next two years that eventually included flights fromWashington Dulles International Airport and several point-to-point operations,[5][6] with an emphasis on connecting Northeastern passengers to destinations inFlorida.[7]
MetroJet operations did not improve US Airways's loss-making record. Many of MetroJet's passengers were cannibalized from other US Airways operations, such as its major presence atRonald Reagan Washington National Airport. Its aircraft were among the oldest and least fuel efficient in US Airways's fleet, and like its parent its labor costs were among the highest in the industry. Meanwhile, it faced cutthroat competition with Southwest, its main competitor at BWI.[8] In an October 28, 2001 interview withBusiness Travel News, CEO David Siegel revealed that MetroJet's average cost per available seat mile was 8 cents, compared to 6 cents for Southwest and 10 cents for mainline US Airways.
After theSeptember 11 attacks, US Airways was disproportionately affected byWashington National Airport's extended closure. The resulting financial disaster precipitated the closure of the airline's MetroJet network, which led to the closing of the subsidiary's primary operating base at Baltimore-Washington International Airport and the furloughing of thousands of employees.
US Airways invoked aforce majeure clause in its labor contracts to close the operation, announced on September 24.[9][10] The airline also largely ended its Baltimore hub, which it had inherited from an earlier merger withPiedmont Airlines.[11] Once the largest carrier there, its number of scheduled flights had fallen by 60 percent by the time the last MetroJet 737 was retired in December.[citation needed]
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MetroJet fleet included:
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