The jet age began, albeit hesitantly, at Business Express through the acquisition of
Pilgrim Airlines in 1986; through this transaction, the growing airline acquired a single
Fokker F28 Fellowship twin-jet aircraft but Business Express chose not to operate it due to concerns of profitability. In 1992, the airline obtained five
British Aerospace BAe 146-200 69-passenger regional jets from
Discovery Airways and placed an order for twenty new
Avro RJ70s in the same year which then began to be added to the fleet in 1993. The Avro RJ70 was an improved version of the BAe 146. In the mid-1990s, Business Express became the first
Delta Connection regional carrier to operate jet aircraft, predating deliveries of
Canadair and
Embraer Regional Jets to
Atlantic Southeast Airlines,
Comair, and
SkyWest Airlines. Jet routes included international feeder service to Delta's
transatlantic hub at JFK, with service to
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.
Boston-based jet service included service along the
Eastern Seaboard to
Baltimore,
Norfolk, and
Richmond. Although long-coveted, Business Express was unable to operate the BAe 146 on the lucrative
Boston Logan-
Washington National sector due to
landing slot restrictions on four-engine aircraft, and a primary reason these units did not succeed as significant revenue generators for the airline. In an effort to establish a larger regional identity, Business Express launched the 'Fly BEX Jets' program in 1994 on the Boston-
Baltimore-Washington sector. The aggressive marketing scheme offered free round-trip flight vouchers for every round-trip flown on BAe-146 aircraft. The program was popular and heightened awareness, however, failed to generate significant revenue. Using its radial approach to route development, Business Express launched service to
Milwaukee's
General Mitchell International Airport in 1994, competing directly with
Midwest Express. The carrier operated two daily nonstop flights in the marketplace with 70-passenger Avro RJ70 aircraft, but generated lower-than-anticipated passenger traffic, and suspended the service in January 1995. Apart from its independent
Northwest Airlink codeshare on
Minneapolis-
Aspen/
Snowmass service, Milwaukee was the westernmost destination of the fully integrated BEX system. Its severely weather-affected market in the
Northeast,
Canada, and
Upper Midwest made
Southern routes both attractive and potentially feasible. Nevertheless, Business Express was unable to penetrate Southern vacation travel markets due to overlap with other Delta Connection carriers in
Cincinnati and
Atlanta. The airline lacked true 'feed' into one of Delta's largest mainline hubs. Constricted by a fierce operating culture in the Northeast and a lack of viable markets, Business Express was unable to identify a consistently profitable market for its jet aircraft. The airline never took full delivery of the Avro RJ70 order. BAe146-200s were replaced by five Avro RJ70s that operated primarily in the New York to Cleveland and Detroit markets, as well as between Boston and Baltimore, Norfolk, and Richmond. With the jet program launch, a new and fully integrated interior overhaul was undertaken beginning in 1993. Aircraft seating featured a distinctive gray-on-gray horizontal stripe and red accented fabric. Eventually, all
Saab 340 airframes were outfitted with standard upholstery featured in the BAe 146-200 jets. Although distinctive, the fabric program was replaced by all-leather seating beginning in 1997. Saab 340 aircraft were redeployed with blue leather seats featuring a slimmer profile and ergonomically advanced design. These aircraft joined the
American Eagle fleet providing passenger feed for
American Airlines with comparable interiors to its existing equipment. == Hub expansion ==