While so many other airlines are hemorrhaging millions of dollars and going bankrupt, Quintana says he only needs $1.2 million to get his airline off the ground. He says he can do it so cheap because his fleet will be turbo propeller planes and his planes will land at secondary airports, like Palomar. The propeller planes may take a little longer, and the smaller airports may be a little out of the way, but Quintana figures travelers wouldn’t mind the trade-off if the ticket cost around $90.

Quintana says flights will focus on Phoenix, San Diego, El Paso, Texas, and the San Francisco Bay Area in the beginning, but will likely expand over time.

To launch an airline you’d think it would take a lot of inside industry know-how, but Quintana isn’t even a pilot. Up until a few weeks ago he was working in El Paso unloading planes for the shipping giant DHL. That’s where he claims he studied the airline industry and learned what he needed to know to launch People’s Air.

If all 1.2 million people in San Diego sent Quintana a dollar he could make his goal, but he is fairly realistic. He just finished his business plan last week and expects he’ll be doing plenty of marketing. He says he wouldn’t turn down any large investor, either.

Whether or not Quintana’s airline will be the next Jet Blue remains to be seen. He maintains his airline is for the benefit of the public, calling it “the biggest thing in air travel since United.”

Until then, he’s asking investors to call him at (915) 820-1781.

Greg Fogg is a frequent contributor to Vyuz.