New Jet Service a High-Speed Rail Killer

JSX, formerly known as JetSuiteX, is a new airline with a new operating model that will kill any idea that high-speed trains could compete with air travel in short-haul markets. The airline flies many routes that have been planned for high-speed trains, including Oakland-Los Angeles, Los Angeles-Phoenix, and — starting last week — Dallas-Houston.

JSX uses small jet planes with seats for only 30 passengers, allowing it to by-pass TSA requirements as it conducts its own airport screening. Technically, passengers don’t fly JSX, they make reservations and JSX charters a plane that happens to be owned by a JSX subsidiary, which is another way that it by-passes TSA rules. The result is that people can arrive at the terminal just 20 minutes ahead of their flight’s departure.

Instead of 3×3 or 2×2 seating, JSX’s standard planes have 2×1 seating so passengers traveling alone don’t have to sit next to someone else. The Dallas-Houston flights even have 1×1 seating so no one has to sit next to someone else.

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Prices start at $89 to $99 per one-way ticket, depending on the route. I suspect that, like Megabus’ $1 tickets, only a couple of seats on each plane go for those low prices. But one writer was thrilled to pay $378 to fly round-trip between Oakland and Los Angeles. Fares include two checked bags, free drinks on board (including alcoholic beverages), and valet parking at the airfield.

JSX also competes by serving smaller airports that may actually be more conveniently located to many people than the larger regional airports. For example, before the pandemic JSX planned to fly between Seattle’s Boeing Field and Portland. Where SeaTac, Seattle’s international airport, is 15 heavily congested miles away from downtown Seattle, Boeing Field is just 6 miles over several alternate routes. Unfortunately, JSX has cancelled its Seattle services due to the pandemic but may resume them soon.

JSX has inspired at least one imitator, Taos Air, which was offering flights during the ski season between Taos and various airports in Texas and California. This operation was also cancelled during the pandemic but may resume in 2021.

Given the uncertainties created by the pandemic, anyone would be absolutely foolish to begin construction of a high-speed rail line in the near future. But for those who are still advocating high-speed rail as an alternative to the airlines, a ready answer is now available: JSX.

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About The Antiplanner

The Antiplanner is a forester and economist with more than fifty years of experience critiquing government land-use and transportation plans.

8 Responses to New Jet Service a High-Speed Rail Killer

  1. prk166 says:

    Seems like a continuation of the airline trend to point to point service.

  2. LazyReader says:

    There’s a multitude of tech that may revive the air market
    1: The return of the turboprop! the jet age saw phase out of propeller planes in service, while props are still used they’re mostly for small planes. While Boeing and Airbus cartel shifted to jets the Turboprop and smaller planes but aerospace firms are revamping designs for 60-99 passenger turboprops for transportation.
    2: Revival of the seaplanes, with composite materials offering water resistance and anti-rust/corrosion properties.
    3: The Dynalifter: The 1930’s saw the end of the airship era. Airships however may make a comeback. An Ohio company Ohio Airships, hopes to combine the advantages of air cargo while significantly reducing fuel comsumption. They achieve this by designing cargo airships, called “Dynalifters”These airship mix the design of a plane and a rigid airship. The craft uses a helium filled bag, like airships has a rigid skeleton to support it but unlike airships they’re not lighter than air thus wont float away. Like an airplane it has wings and takes off and lands like a plane. Despite it’s gigantic size requires only 2000 feet of runway and capable of carrying over 100-500 tons.

    I cast some doubts on JSX, because the fuel prices are the biggest detriment to small airlines. Remember the gas price hikes of 2008 led to the bankruptcy of 25 airlines.
    As with cars, increases in speed have taken away any fuel advantage from jet engines, and has taken 50 years to get back down to the same Megajoules per passenger-mile as before the jets. Given the advances in engines, materials and aerodynamics, one can only imagine what a modern version of the turboprop Constellation. As far as the jet age, its appeal wasn’t efficiency, it was speed, reduced noise and greatly increased availability. Modern Turboprop solves two of those issue, noise and efficiency, as for speed, intercontinental flights are a questionable business model in the post COVID panic. The Lockheed constellation was the most beautiful plane to grace the sky, it’d be interesting to see modern version of her fly.

  3. prk166 says:


    Remember the gas price hikes of 2008 led to the bankruptcy of 25 airlines.

    Meh. So Frontier + Sun Country filed for bankrupty in 2008, so what?

    Aloha, America West, TWA, US Airways, United others all filed bankrupcty in the same decade when fuel prices were 80% lower than 2008’s peak.

    That aside, if what we’re seeing out there holds up, we’re looking at a bifurcation in the energy markets with North America increasingly being isolated from the rest of the world market. If this holds up, I’d expect a generation of stable, low/medium oil prices in the US. That doesn’t bode well for turboprops in the US.

    Cruise speeds for turboprops are still half of jets. That affects how many flights it can make in a day. Maybe that matters less with short flights w/ turnaround time/etc being bigger cators than actual flight time. But the shorter the flight, the more likely people ear to drive.

    And really what matters are not fuel costs but block hour costs. Generally a turbo prop like the ATR72 is 50% high than the Embraer 172. And that’s taking into account that a plan like the E175 costs ~$50M versus ~$25M for the ATR72.

    I don’t doubt that turboprops have a bright future. But I’d be it’s mostly in Southeast Asia and maybe somhat in Africa.

  4. ARThomas says:

    I am curious as to whether there are any costing profitability numbers with these carriers. Also what types of planes do they fly. In general I have long wondered about the viability of such routes.

  5. rovingbroker says:

    LazyReader wrote, “Given the advances in engines, materials and aerodynamics, one can only imagine what a modern version of the turboprop Constellation.”

    Not a turboprop.
    “Most were powered by four 18-cylinder Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclones.”
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Constellation

    Perhaps you were thinking of the Lockheed Electra.
    “The Lockheed L-188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed.”
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_L-188_Electra

    Aviation Week reports that Embraer has done preliminary work on a new twin engine turboprop and is looking for partners with money to continue development.

  6. rovingbroker says:

    Average Per-Passenger Fuel Economy by Travel Mode
    .
    “This chart shows average per-passenger fuel economy of various modes of travel. All forms of rail achieve relatively high values because of high ridership, proportionally low drag, and high electrification rates. Airlines are an increasingly efficient form of transport as more passengers are fit onto planes and ticketing software fills most planes to capacity. Motorcycles achieve a high number of passenger miles per gallon, owing to their light weight and very high fuel efficiency. Transit buses are not very efficient at their current ridership rates, where, on average, a given bus is less than 25% full. Demand response vehicles are the least efficient because they need to use fuel just to get to the passenger.”

    https://afdc.energy.gov/data/10311
    http://cta.ornl.gov/data/index.shtml
    Table 2.13
    .
    Chart available at the link.
    .
    The obvious solution is to make users pay for the resources (cost of vehicle, energy and infrastructure) used to travel to work, to grandma’s house in the next state and to that golf vacation in Hawaii.

  7. rovingbroker says:

    It’s never simple — especially when airplanes are involved.

    JSX CEO Alex Wilcox wrote on Sept 11, “This morning I had a very upsetting phone call with an Orange County California official. He told me that as of January 1, 2021, JSX is no longer welcome at Orange County Airport. Since 2018, JSX has been providing the people of Orange County with our unique style of service while contributing millions in economic activity to the region. “

    https://celebmagazine.com/jsx-orange-county-contract-canceled/amp/

    Aha! We have the answer.

    “Why JSX is Being Kicked Out of Orange County Airport”

    https://crankyflier.com/2020/09/17/why-jsx-is-being-kicked-out-of-orange-county-airport/

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