About Opentopia
Opentopia Directory Encyclopedia Tools

Independence Air

Encyclopedia : I : IN : IND : Independence Air

Independence Air was a low-cost airline based in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States (near Washington, D.C.) that operated from 1989 until 2006. It ceased all operations at 8:24pm UTC-5 on January 5, 2006. It had been in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy since November 7, 2005. [link] Its route network focused on the east coast of the United States, but extended to the west coast. Its route network was based at Washington Dulles International Airport.

Contents

History

Independence Air started life as Atlantic Coast Airlines on December 15, 1989, operating feeder services as United Express for United Airlines and Delta Connection for Delta Air Lines. After United withdrew the contract, Atlantic Coast reinvented itself as low-cost carrier Independence Air. It was announced on November 19, 2003 and operations as Independence Air began on 16 June 2004. At its inception, it was unique among low-cost carriers in that its fleet mainly consisted of 50-seat regional jets, although the airline then went on to operate larger Airbus A319s as well.

On May 20, 2004, Independence Air signed a [deal] with the Washington Redskins to become the Official Airline of the team for three years.

In addition to the almost inevitable low cost tagline in its marketing, Independence Air became quickly known for the humorous touches it added to the flying experience, such as replacing the flight attendant safety announcements with prerecorded versions of the warnings by celebrities such as James Carville (addressing the left side of the plane) and Mary Matalin (addressing the right) and their promotion from within of former baggage handler Dave George to being anointed "the Flyi Guy"--the airline's resident comedian. This wisecracker's prerecorded announcements (in lieu of elevator music) spiced up even the experience of being on hold with Flyi via such lines as "I wanted to call our membership program 'The Mile I Club'-- but I was voted down."

In the Summer of 2005, the airline offered the GLiDE Summer Travel Pass for college students. Upon paying $250, the customer would be able to fly at no cost (After paying Taxes & Airport fees) from May 1-Aug 31, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Saturdays. This move was meant not to bring in revenue, but to try and fill seats that otherwise would have flown empty.

After facing financial hardships of the airline industry, Independence Air announced on January 2, 2006 that it would cease operations at 7:26pm UTC-5 on January 5, 2006.

Financial difficulties and cessation of operations

After its emergence as an independent brand name, Independence Air became known for offering very low airfares: as little as $29 one-way to Florida from Washington Dulles International Airport. However, the company never overcame a series of financial problems during its transition. In February 2005, one of its aircraft was [repossessed] after the company missed a lease payment. Later that year, three more aircraft were sold or repossesed.

In the first quarter of 2005, Independence Air lost $105 million on revenue of $91 million. A J.P. Morgan analyst released a report in early May 2005 predicting that Independence Air would lose $183.2 million in 2005, and have less than $5 million cash on hand by the end of the year. The report forecast that United Airlines, AirTran Airways, and other East Coast carriers would stand to gain the most should Independence Air cease operations.

Throughout 2005, Independence Air planned to emerge from deficits through fleet changes and workforce layoffs. At its inception, Independence Air's small Canadair Regional Jets cost the company $0.22 per seat-mile to operate. Low-cost carriers with larger aircraft were able to operate at much lower costs: $0.065 for JetBlue (with Airbus A320s) and $0.075 for Southwest Airlines (with Boeing 737s). In an effort to lower its costs to a competitive level, Independence Air began taking deliveries of new Airbus A319 aircraft that were expected to reduce operating costs toward JetBlue and Southwest's levels. The airline was never able to rebound.

At the time of its shutdown, the airline operated 200 daily departures to 37 destinations.

Destinations

At the time of its shutdown on January 5, 2006, Independence operated services to 37 destinations:

Destinations eliminated prior to January, 2006 shutdown:

Fleet

At the time of its shutdown on January 5, 2006, the Independence Air fleet consisted of the following aircraft:

Prior to its demise, the company had negotiated with Bombardier for delivery of multiple 90-seat Bombardier CRJ-900s.

28 Airbus A319s with International Aero Engines V2500 engines were scheduled for delivery in 2004-2006 [link]. The first of these arrived at Dulles on September 9, 2004 to commence proving runs and started scheduled operations on November 22, 2004 [link].

External links

References


Lists of Aircraft | Aircraft manufacturers | Aircraft engines | Aircraft engine manufacturers

| Airlines | Air forces | Aircraft weapons | Missiles | Timeline of aviation

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

Search Titles
0123456789
ABCDEFGHIJ
KLMNOPQRST
UVWXYZ?

E-mail this article to:

Personal Message: