Lincoln airline Red Way shutting down at end of month

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – After less than three months of flights, Lincoln’s Red Way airline is shutting down at the end of August.

In a message sent to customers Wednesday, the airline said it came to the “difficult conclusion” to close due to the “compounding of costs and lack of resources.”

The airline’s last day is Aug. 31.  Officials said all flights after that will be canceled, and customers will receive full refunds.

Michael George, who was traveling with his wife at the airport on Wednesday, said he hadn’t heard of Red Way until the shutdown.

“It’s really nice flying out of Lincoln,” he said. “It’s really convenient for us rather than having to go all the way to Omaha, and it would be great to have other options as airlines. So it’s sad for me to hear that one kind of came and gone without even knowing about it.”

In a statement, the Lincoln Airport Authority said it ended it contract with Fly Next LLC, the entity behind Red Way.

“The Lincoln Airport Authority Board is disappointed by the ultimate outcome of Red Way’s service in Lincoln,” John Olsson, the board’s chairman, said in the statement. “Board members have met to discuss the result of the service, actions necessary to both address this situation and chart future efforts and oversight on what’s to come.”

Steve Glenn, chairman of Executive Travel, said he thinks one of the problems with Red Way was that money from the sold tickets was held in escrow.

That means the airline wasn’t able to use the money until customers actually went on their flights, which in many cases was months after they were booked.

“So basically, my guess is they ran out of cash,” Glenn said. “The good news about that is that’s held in escrow, so everybody gets their money back.”

He said having flights to so many destinations wasn’t sustainable, but he hopes the airport authority will keep trying new ideas to draw business.

“I applaud them,” Glenn said. “They’re trying things that are out of the box, and we have to do that in Lincoln. My hope is that this is the first swing of the bat.”

In March, when Red Way was announced, Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird said about $3 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds were invested in the project.

On June 8, the Lincoln Airport conducted its inaugural Red Way flight to Orlando. In its first two weeks of flying, the airline sold 6,000 tickets.

Last month, the airline announced the addition of two new destinations, Tampa and Phoenix, while canceling flights to Austin, Minneapolis and Atlanta.

The Lancaster County Board said it was assured after Red Way’s first month of service that “operations were improving.”

“The County Board is deeply disappointed and troubled at this unexpected and sudden turn of events and has many unanswered questions regarding the Red Way project,” the board said in a press release. “The County Board looks forward to receiving a full accounting of this situation as the Lincoln Airport Authority charts a new path forward to serve our community.

Airport officials say refunds should be paid automatically by the end of the week.

You can contact the airline’s customer service team by texting or calling 531-289-3903.