Amerijet ends its US air/road experiment

Ft. Lauderdale-based all-cargo carrier Amerijet International launched a daily 767-200 service between the US cities of Reno and Columbus in July of this year, with road feeder service connecting the Reno hub to four cities in the western US, and connecting the Columbus hub to five cities in the east. The service offered one-to-two-day origin-to-destination times between major commercial centers on opposite sides of the country – considerably less than the up-to-five days needed for road transport, at a price well below overnight air express.

However, volumes did not meet the carrier’s expectation, and after three months Amerijet has ended the service and closed its facilities at the two airports. Amerijet President Dave Bassett called the Columbus/Reno operation an experiment that didn’t work out. “We had hoped it would eventually represent about 10% of our business,” he told the Columbus Dispatch, “but it didn’t work out that way.”

Amerijet’s fleet includes one 767-300F, three 767-200Fs, and three 727-200Fs. It also ACMI-leases a fourth 767‑200F from Air Transport International.