Southern Airways Express, a Florida-based commuter airline company, is acquiring St. Louis-based airline Air Choice One, according to a recent Southern Airways press release. Air Choice One has provided flight services for Northeast Arkansas since 2012, and offers flights from Jonesboro to St. Louis and Nashville, Tennessee.
While the deal hasn’t officially been approved by the DOT, the airline does not anticipate regulatory difficulty as the carriers routes do not overlap. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Air Choice One CEO Shane Storz will join Southern Airways as an executive vice president, while other company leaders and staff will be “absorbed into Southern Airways’ current infrastructure.”
The acquisition will bring the number of destinations served by Southern Airways up to 41 cities and with 222 peak day departures. The airline will gain three new destinations — St. Louis, Nashville, and Jonesboro, Ark. the latter of which is an EAS city — and two routes from Air Choice One.
Southern Airways already serves Hot Springs, El Dorado and Harrison, Arkansas. The three cities in which Air Choice One currently operates will be rebranded as Southern Airways Express by summer 2022.
READ ALSO: FedEx Founder Fred Smith Steps Down, New President/CEO Named
