NEW YORK, NY – A new low-cost airline will begin serving midsize U.S. cities that it thinks larger carriers have left behind.

Clearwater, Fla.-based JetAmerica said 34 nonstop passenger flights a week will start July 13 at Toledo, Ohio; South Bend, Ind.; Melbourne, Fla.; Newark, N.J.; Minneapolis; and Lansing, Mich. Twenty-eight flights start or end at Newark Liberty International Airport. The carrier will add six more flights -- from Toledo to Minneapolis -- on Aug. 14.

JetAmerica is targeting small and midsize cities like Lansing, which has seen the number of daily flights at its Capital Region International Airport fall to 12 from 35 during the past five years. The decline is part of a national trend that has seen airfares increase at those airports as daily flights have decreased.

Robert Selig, head of the Capital Region Airport Authority, said JetAmerica will give Lansing business travelers direct access to New York City and carry leisure travelers to central Florida. "This is going to fill a major void in our schedule," he said.

The Lansing, South Bend, Melbourne and Toledo airports are subsidizing JetAmerica with $1.4 million in grants in its first year, along with about $867,000 in waived airport fees and $1.1 million in marketing and advertising assistance. South Bend, Toledo and Melbourne received their grants from the Department of Transportation's Small Community Air Service Development Program, which has awarded $104 million since 2002 in an effort to restore lost service and bring airfares down. Newark and Minneapolis aren't offering assistance.

John Weikle, chief executive of JetAmerica, said the subsidies will help insulate the new carrier from spikes in jet-fuel prices. Surging fuel prices helped bankrupt ultra-discounter Skybus Inc. last year. Mr. Weikle founded that Columbus, Ohio-based airline known for its $10 fares. JetAmerica's pricing scheme will share some Skybus characteristics. Prices will start at $9 a seat and top out at $199. The $9 price will apply to the first nine to 19 seats on each plane. Passengers will pay $15 to check a bag. Food, drinks and in-flight TV will also come at a cost.

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