California Pacific Airlines (Carlsbad) is moving ahead in its Part 121 FAA certification process and hopes to take delivery of its first two Embraer ERJ 170s by April.

Logo: The color scheme is evolving with the introduction of this new type style (above) and a new logo (below):

The upstart issued the following statement:

“California Pacific, the nation’s newest start-up airline, has passed all requirements for Phase I of the Federal Aviation Administration’s certification process.

“This is an important milestone for FAA certification, which is one of the most stringent in the world of commercial aviation,” said Founder and CEO Ted Vallas. “Our staff, which combined has more than 300 years of commercial aviation experience, has worked diligently over the past two years to get to this point.”

Once certified, CPAir will operate from Carlsbad’s Palomar Airport, located 30 miles north of San Diego’s Lindbergh Field. The new airline is applying to fly a number of daily non-stop flights to San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.

“We have leased our first two planes, Embraer 170s, which should arrive in the spring so we can begin flight-crew training,” Vallas said. “We’ll begin with the twin-jet, 70-passenger planes, and later add at least three more planes, possibly upgrading to the Embraer 190. One of the great features for our passengers will be a comfortable two-by-two seating configuration.”

The Embraer 190 is much the same as the E-170, except it has more passenger and baggage capacity, as well as bigger engines.

From 1980 to 1997, Vallas owned and operated Air Resorts, a scheduled and charter airline. Air Resorts flew from San Diego’s Lindbergh Field, serving Las Vegas, Tucson, Burbank, as well as provided charter service a number college athletic teams.”

This is the image of the first version of the color scheme:

Projected Route Map: