Delay grounds entire airline for a month

Delays in Newark are keeping an entire airline on the ground. We’ve seen how a single flight’s delay can have impacts at airlines across the country, but preventing an entire airline from going wheels up … that’s huge.

JetAmerica has had to defer its launch for a month, citing problems getting takeoff slots at Newark Liberty International Airport. This isn’t the first time an airline’s blamed an airport, but it must resonate with the many passengers who have spent too much time at Liberty gates thanks to delays.

Of course, this holdup is costing JetAmerica, the wannabe low-cost carrier, an absolute fortune. So far, it’s had to refund half a million dollars to more than 6,400 passengers, ostensibly because the folks in Newark temporarily clipped its wings.

If JetAmerica ever does really get off the ground, it will offer 34 flights a day, servicing such desirable destinations as Toledo, Lansing and South Bend.