Tahoe Air has come and gone

Tuesday, Nov. 23, 1999 | 10:33 a.m.

Tahoe Air's Chief Executive Officer Bruce Wetsel says said line suspended operations indefinitely on Friday. He refused to call it quits and said the company isn't filing for bankruptcy.

All but four of its employees are out of work, however.

Tahoe Air had been working to get federal certification fly on its own. To get in the air while waiting, Tahoe Air contracted with other carriers to serve Lake Tahoe.

A rocky relationship with Casino Express out of Elko, Nev., recently ended. Tahoe Air suspended flights while waiting for the U.S. Department of Transportation to approve a new relationship with Lorair out of Tucson, Ariz. It's been a long wait and flights have taken off only one weekend in about a month.

In the meantime, the patience of Tahoe Air's investment supporters ran out. Capital Bay Securities has sunk $5 million into the operation and isn't pleased with the slow pace of resuming operations.

Wetsel said the investor is just taking a wait-and-see approach.

Tahoe Air began flights June 25 to Los Angeles and San Jose.

archive