Why did Lincoln airline Red Way fail?

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – In June, the Lincoln Airport conducted its inaugural Red Way flight.

In the first two weeks of flying, the airline sold 6,000 tickets and eventually added destinations like Phoenix and Tampa.

But the airline announced last month that it was ending flights to Austin, Minneapolis and Atlanta.

And now the project, which used $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, will shut down at the end of August.

SEE ALSO: Nebraska state auditor to investigate funding of Lincoln airline Red Way

Lincoln Airport Authority Executive Director David Haring said many things played a part in the airline’s decline, including some flights that were leaving almost empty.

“I think some of the Minneapolis flights were routinely leaving with less than 20% of the seats full,” he said. “It wasn’t just as simple as, we could work with the operator to establish a single market to Vegas or single market to Orlando; we had to meet a certain limit of flying each month and had to have a program that met that.”

Flights to Orlando and Las Vegas did see great numbers, Haring said, opening up the possibility of adding those destinations in the future.

“I think Orlando was the best of the markets that we had; they were already at 75% full,” he said. “So there were definitely some trends that we saw. But we need to make sure that we get the resources in place to set it up for success going forward.”

Haring said next time, officials will choose destinations more carefully.

Red Way employees were given a heads-up before the closure was announced. Haring is hopeful that some may seek future employment at LNK.

“I would love to retain the entire team; that was truly one of the jewels of this program,” he said.