California Pacific Airlines (San Diego McClellan Palomar) is planning to resume commercial services in early 2020, with the regional carrier intending to initially operate four E145s in year one, before adding two E170s in the second year, according to a filing with the US Department for Transportation (DOT).

Having suspended all flights in December 2018, California Pacific (CPAir) will again operate from San Diego McClellan Palomar, and plans to offer services to San José, US, Phoenix Sky Harbor, Las Vegas Harry Reid, Reno/Tahoe, and Los Cabos, Mexico.

CPAir's existing authority to operate interstate scheduled flights, which was attained by ADI Aerodynamics (Pontiac Oakland County International) in 2016 before it was merged into CPAir in 2018, is due to expire on January 16, 2020. In a letter sent to the DOT, the airline's Chairman Theodore Vallas has asked for this authority to be extended "to allow for us to complete the purchase of aircraft, training of crews, as well as formalising one of three partnerships currently in the discussion phase, which will allow us to retire debt by our own proposed "work-out" plan."

In a separate note sent by Vallas to the authorities in late December 2019, but part of the airline's application to return to the air, he implored the DOT "to withhold from public disclosure...commercial, financial, privileged, and confidential" information which he believes "would cause substantial harm to the competitive position" of CPAir.

Talking to publication Paxex.aero earlier this month Vallas claims that the “last thing we have [to do] with the DOT is setting the timeframe” for the resumption of service.

In terms of Vallas' overall plan for CPAir, that has not changed since its original start-up. “It will be exactly what we planned from the inception, growing to seven cities served” from Carlsbad. Vallas also says that the company “probably is going to bring the E170 back into the picture sooner than not,” though he did not provide further specifics on the aircraft's introduction to the fledgeling fleet.

Two E145LRs previously operated by CPAir - namely N259JQ (msn 145763) and N286SK (msn 145443) - are now flown by JSX Air (XE, Dallas Love Field).