Maine based charter airline Elite Airways is expanding its business to include nonstop scheduled flights from September.
The carrier will initially start flying scheduled services from Washington Dulles airport to Melbourne, Florida from September 8, and plan to add more routes in the fall.
Elite will begin with two scheduled flights a week and reservations will open to the public in late August.
Tickets will be offered for sale on booking sites such as Expedia.com and Travelocity.com and the opening $199 one way fares will be inclusive of in-flight meals and baggage.
"The idea was always there, we just needed to find the right city pairs," said Elite president John Pearsall.
Although the flights will go on general open sale, Pearsall described the flights as "scheduled charters" as the carrier is still awaiting FAA approval to operate long term scheduled services.
Once this is given, the schedule will be expanded to five times a week and more routes will be added.
Elite plans to buy a 175-seater Boeing 757 jet to operate the scheduled flights, alongside its current charter fleet of five Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft.
Up until now Elite has focused primarily on charter services for corporate clients, VIP tour groups and college sports teams.
