Indigo, which originally launched a “regular and frequent” business aircraft service with a Falcon 20 in February 2000, was scheduled to receive its first “upscale shuttle” version of the Embraer ERJ-135 late last month. The Chicago-based company ceased operations earlier this year and now expects to relaunch operations on January 6 next year with the new ERJ-135 on the run between Chicago’s Midway Airport and Teterboro (N.J.) Airport previously served by the Falcon 20 fleet.
Indigo was created to fill a market niche between regularly scheduled airline service and the available corporate, charter and fractional-ownership alternatives. It was, and remains, organized as a “public charter operator” authorized by the Department of Transportation to do business under Part 380 of DOT regulations as an “indirect” air carrier. The Part 380 authorization allows it to deal with the public and sell seats. The sister company, AirServ, holds the Part 135 certificate that allows it to “physically and directly” operate the aircraft on behalf of Indigo.