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Independence Air to cut one quarter of flights from February
Kerry Ezard, Washington DC (04Jan05, 20:19 GMT, 494 words)
Struggling low-fares startup Independence Air is dropping over one quarter of its regional jet schedule in February as part of a network revamp that includes the termination of five routes and a significant reduction of the carrier’s Washington Dulles services.
From 31 January, Independence Air will reduce its total departures from 560 a day to 410, says a spokesman for the carrier. This will include the end of service from Charleston, West Virginia and Huntsville, Alabama to both Orlando and Tampa in Florida as well as its Greenville, South Carolina service to Tampa.
Independence Air’s plan also significantly reduces service to eight destinations from its Washington Dulles hub. This will affect flights to Boston, which will fall from 11-daily to seven; Chicago O’Hare (11 to six); Cleveland, Ohio (seven to three); Columbus, Ohio (seven to three); Indianapolis, Indiana (six to three); New York JFK (13 to nine); New York Newark (ten to seven); and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (ten to seven).
Independence competes with Dulles hub carrier United Airlines on each of these routes. It also faces additional competition from American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and US Airways in their hub markets.
The low-cost carrier also faces direct competition from Delta in the five twice-daily Florida services set to end this month.
A spokesman for JetBlue Airways says Independence Air’s reduction of service at Dulles “presents opportunities in the future” for the New York JFK-based low-cost carrier, which has been “looking to grow in Dulles” for some time.
Independence Air’s spokesman says the carrier will also cut many of its remaining Florida services by half to one flight a day, adding that there will also be “individual adjustments in some other markets too”.
“This is all about better matching supply with demand,” he notes, adding that “there will be no complete withdrawal of service from any one market”.
Independence Air’s spokesman will not comment on the future use of the aircraft currently deployed on these routes.
On 23 December, Independence Air’s parent company Flyi’s largest shareholder told ATI he wanted the company to consider selling if its bid for regional jet flying with United Airlines is rejected.
Ed Shapiro, a partner with Boston-based investment group Par Capital, which owns a 10% stake in Flyi, said: “We believe the Flyi assets have value if utilized in alternative ways to today’s Independence Air strategy and any strategy that can help realize that value should be fully explored, including a sale of the company.”
Independence is one of ten carriers in receipt of a request for proposal (RFP) from United to assume the contract currently operated by Air Wisconsin. A United spokesman would not comment on Independence Air’s planned service reduction.
Flyi, which reported an $83 million net loss in the third quarter of 2004, recently warned of a possible Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
Commenting on the Independence Air cuts, Shapiro notes: “It is positive. From our perspective…the smaller [Independence Air] is, the less flawed it is.”
Kerry Ezard, Washington DC (04Jan05, 20:19 GMT, 494 words)
Struggling low-fares startup Independence Air is dropping over one quarter of its regional jet schedule in February as part of a network revamp that includes the termination of five routes and a significant reduction of the carrier’s Washington Dulles services.
From 31 January, Independence Air will reduce its total departures from 560 a day to 410, says a spokesman for the carrier. This will include the end of service from Charleston, West Virginia and Huntsville, Alabama to both Orlando and Tampa in Florida as well as its Greenville, South Carolina service to Tampa.
Independence Air’s plan also significantly reduces service to eight destinations from its Washington Dulles hub. This will affect flights to Boston, which will fall from 11-daily to seven; Chicago O’Hare (11 to six); Cleveland, Ohio (seven to three); Columbus, Ohio (seven to three); Indianapolis, Indiana (six to three); New York JFK (13 to nine); New York Newark (ten to seven); and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (ten to seven).
Independence competes with Dulles hub carrier United Airlines on each of these routes. It also faces additional competition from American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and US Airways in their hub markets.
The low-cost carrier also faces direct competition from Delta in the five twice-daily Florida services set to end this month.
A spokesman for JetBlue Airways says Independence Air’s reduction of service at Dulles “presents opportunities in the future” for the New York JFK-based low-cost carrier, which has been “looking to grow in Dulles” for some time.
Independence Air’s spokesman says the carrier will also cut many of its remaining Florida services by half to one flight a day, adding that there will also be “individual adjustments in some other markets too”.
“This is all about better matching supply with demand,” he notes, adding that “there will be no complete withdrawal of service from any one market”.
Independence Air’s spokesman will not comment on the future use of the aircraft currently deployed on these routes.
On 23 December, Independence Air’s parent company Flyi’s largest shareholder told ATI he wanted the company to consider selling if its bid for regional jet flying with United Airlines is rejected.
Ed Shapiro, a partner with Boston-based investment group Par Capital, which owns a 10% stake in Flyi, said: “We believe the Flyi assets have value if utilized in alternative ways to today’s Independence Air strategy and any strategy that can help realize that value should be fully explored, including a sale of the company.”
Independence is one of ten carriers in receipt of a request for proposal (RFP) from United to assume the contract currently operated by Air Wisconsin. A United spokesman would not comment on Independence Air’s planned service reduction.
Flyi, which reported an $83 million net loss in the third quarter of 2004, recently warned of a possible Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
Commenting on the Independence Air cuts, Shapiro notes: “It is positive. From our perspective…the smaller [Independence Air] is, the less flawed it is.”
