SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan 18, 2026, 03:55 (PST)
- JSX CEO reveals plans for a San Jose to Santa Monica route, aiming to deploy new ATR turboprops
- Santa Monica–Las Vegas service kicked off Dec. 19; Scottsdale flights set to launch Jan. 22; additional Vegas frequencies are in the works
- Service runs into legal challenges and a 2028 deadline linked to the future of Santa Monica Airport
JSX plans to launch flights connecting San Jose in Silicon Valley with Santa Monica, banking on its new ATR turboprop planes to reach destinations off-limits to its smaller jets, CEO Alex Wilcox said in an interview this week. The airline is also eyeing a route from Santa Monica to Telluride, Colorado, he added.
This shift is significant since Santa Monica Airport has mostly steered clear of routine passenger flights, despite frustration among Los Angeles travelers over long trips to and through bigger airports. JSX aims to carve out a space with its “by-the-seat” charter flights from private terminals, slashing check-in times and bypassing airport queues.
JSX kicked off daily flights from Santa Monica to Las Vegas on Dec. 19 and will add daily service to Scottsdale, Arizona, on Jan. 22. The carrier is also boosting Las Vegas frequency through early February. One-way fares from Santa Monica hover around $215, per JSX and recent reports. “We want to be the convenient option,” JSX chief commercial officer David Drabinsky told Afar. https://www.afar.com/magazine/jsx-launches…
JSX’s new Santa Monica flights rely on an ATR 42-600 turboprop, a prop-driven plane that requires less runway than many jets. This is crucial at Santa Monica, where the runway stretches only about 3,500 feet, limiting JSX to the ATR rather than its bigger Embraer jets.
Wilcox said the carrier is focusing on routes that “where the jet can’t go,” like short hops and airports with runway restrictions. JSX plans to add more ATRs this year, with a second plane arriving later this month in January.
San Jose is the key route, but Wilcox pointed out that landing slots at Mineta San Jose International Airport are the bottleneck. JSX usually flies out of private terminals, not the main airline concourses. If getting in at San Jose becomes too tricky, the airline might pivot to Oakland instead.
JSX is exploring routes like Santa Monica to Telluride and Dallas Love Field, focusing on airports where runway length and performance limits restrict usual regional jets. ATR Chief Executive Nathalie Tarnaud Laude told in an interview the aircraft suits trips in the “300 to 500” nautical mile range, an area where “we are better.”
JSX markets its Santa Monica route as a no-frills airport alternative: show up just before takeoff, breeze through a quick check-in, then settle into one of 30 seats. The airline aims to roll out Starlink Wi-Fi on its ATR planes by early 2026, pending certification.
The expansion comes amid ongoing tensions over Santa Monica Airport, where local residents want to curb noise and flight traffic in a densely populated area. In November, a resident group and other plaintiffs sued, claiming the city failed to conduct a thorough California Environmental Quality Act review before granting JSX’s commercial operations permit, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press.
A 2017 agreement sets a deadline: Santa Monica must keep the airport open until Dec. 31, 2028, after which the city could shut it down. Drabinsky told Afar that JSX plans to operate right up to that cutoff and then “let the people of Santa Monica decide.”
JSX is gauging if its premium-focused clientele will embrace turboprops as much as jets, a recurring question in U.S. markets where propeller planes have largely disappeared. Wilcox noted early customer responses have been positive, and the airline is tracking its net promoter score — a key customer-satisfaction metric — to determine if it will retain the aircraft over the long haul.
If the experiment proves successful, Wilcox said JSX holds an agreement potentially allowing it to purchase up to 25 additional ATR aircraft, with a decision slated for later this year. At the same time, the carrier intends to expand its fleet with more Embraer ERJ-145 jets, maintaining a connection to the aircraft it already operates comfortably.
