How People Does It

One feisty little carrier with rock-bottom prices has more business than its reservations clerks can handle. At People Express, callers sometimes find themselves talking to President Donald Burr. No wonder Burr is glad to pitch in whereever he can: last month, People flew 357,000 paying customers, a whopping 146% increase over traffic a year ago.

In the 22 months since People Express started up, its home base—a former freight terminal—has become the busiest gateway at Newark International Airport, some 13 miles southwest of New York City. Flying passengers between cities from Boston to...