No Better Fly-I Press Than This!
Independence Air brings low airfares to Charleston region
By Bill Settlemyer
The recent announcement that Independence Air will begin service here on July 17 is terrific news. After years of suffering the indignity and economic cost of exorbitant airfares, we’re about to get some relief.
As chairman of the Metro Chamber’s Air Service Task Force, I had been following the news about Independence Air since last summer. That’s when Atlantic Coast Airlines first announced their intention to transition from being a regional feeder airline for major carriers and become a full-fledged airline in their own right doing business as “Independence Air.”
Last November I received a call from Rick DeLisi, the airline’s director of corporate communications. He introduced himself and said his company had been following our efforts to attract a low fare carrier to the Charleston region. “We can tell you’re a community that ‘gets it,’” he said, and hinted there would be good news for us when the carrier announced its launch cities this year.
All I can say now is, “How sweet it is!” On the morning of May 19, the day Independence Air announced it would be serving Charleston, my wife went online at www.flyi.com and booked a trip for us later this summer to New England. The savings? Over $200 compared to what we would have paid flying United.
And by the way, the United Express routes we were planning to book were actually being serviced by Atlantic Coast’s crews and aircraft. The big difference, as of May 19, was that we were now dealing with an airline that “gets it.” Like other low fare carriers, the folks at Independence Air understand that air travelers are tired of being jerked around and want to be treated like valued customers.
Low fare carriers understand that we want affordable fares and a simplified fare schedule that makes sense. They understand we don’t want to have our pockets picked just because a carrier happens to have a dominant position in our particular market. And they understand that the way to build real loyalty is not frequent flyer points. No, in reality it’s about as simple as the Golden Rule—airlines need to treat their customers the way they themselves would want to be treated.
Yes, the airline business is tough and highly competitive, but there’s still a right way and a wrong way, and Independence Air has put their stake in the ground on the side of the good guys.
A new/old airline
A part of the good news about Independence Air is that it’s not by any means a start-up airline—it’s already been in business for 14 years. Chances are many of you reading this column have flown with their crews and planes painted with the United Express or Delta Connection colors. They have a great deal of experience getting people from one place to another; it’s just that now they get to do it on their own nickel instead of playing second fiddle to the big legacy carriers.
To show their commitment to our region, the company brought one of their newly refitted jets to the recent air show at the Air Force base. I met their chief pilot and went inside the plane to look at the classy leather seats that are part of the interior upgrade. The legroom was comparable or perhaps even better than coach seating on larger jets flown by major airlines.
Support your local low fare airline
As we pursued AirTran last year, we emphasized over and over again to our business community that they and the public must support low fare carriers once they enter our market. So let the word go forth throughout our tri-county community that everyone should make sure they give a portion of their air travel business to Independence Air. I’ve already done so personally and expect to do so many more times.
Keep in mind that the legacy carriers will likely drop their fares to match or come close to Independence Air’s fares, so don’t let that dissuade you. The only way we can keep fares low here is to patronize low fare carriers. After all, we know the alternatives all too well. A statistical analysis I did earlier this year indicated that a combined total of about 350,000 people traveling to and from Charleston drive to airports in Myrtle Beach, Savannah and even Atlanta instead of using Charleston International Airport due to our high fares.
So expect things to get busier at our airport—we have a fine facility and a new parking garage under construction. As our passenger counts grow, I’m sure we’ll continue to find that our airport is very convenient to fly into or out of, but be patient if things get a bit busier in and around the terminal.
A huge plus
Independence Air’s home base and hub is at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, D.C. From there, the airline will fly to many of the cities in the Northeast and Midwest that are most popular with Charleston travelers. It’s going to be a huge plus for us.
This is the dawn of a new age of air travel for the Charleston region. Let’s enjoy it and take full advantage of it!
Independence Air brings low airfares to Charleston region
By Bill Settlemyer
The recent announcement that Independence Air will begin service here on July 17 is terrific news. After years of suffering the indignity and economic cost of exorbitant airfares, we’re about to get some relief.
As chairman of the Metro Chamber’s Air Service Task Force, I had been following the news about Independence Air since last summer. That’s when Atlantic Coast Airlines first announced their intention to transition from being a regional feeder airline for major carriers and become a full-fledged airline in their own right doing business as “Independence Air.”
Last November I received a call from Rick DeLisi, the airline’s director of corporate communications. He introduced himself and said his company had been following our efforts to attract a low fare carrier to the Charleston region. “We can tell you’re a community that ‘gets it,’” he said, and hinted there would be good news for us when the carrier announced its launch cities this year.
All I can say now is, “How sweet it is!” On the morning of May 19, the day Independence Air announced it would be serving Charleston, my wife went online at www.flyi.com and booked a trip for us later this summer to New England. The savings? Over $200 compared to what we would have paid flying United.
And by the way, the United Express routes we were planning to book were actually being serviced by Atlantic Coast’s crews and aircraft. The big difference, as of May 19, was that we were now dealing with an airline that “gets it.” Like other low fare carriers, the folks at Independence Air understand that air travelers are tired of being jerked around and want to be treated like valued customers.
Low fare carriers understand that we want affordable fares and a simplified fare schedule that makes sense. They understand we don’t want to have our pockets picked just because a carrier happens to have a dominant position in our particular market. And they understand that the way to build real loyalty is not frequent flyer points. No, in reality it’s about as simple as the Golden Rule—airlines need to treat their customers the way they themselves would want to be treated.
Yes, the airline business is tough and highly competitive, but there’s still a right way and a wrong way, and Independence Air has put their stake in the ground on the side of the good guys.
A new/old airline
A part of the good news about Independence Air is that it’s not by any means a start-up airline—it’s already been in business for 14 years. Chances are many of you reading this column have flown with their crews and planes painted with the United Express or Delta Connection colors. They have a great deal of experience getting people from one place to another; it’s just that now they get to do it on their own nickel instead of playing second fiddle to the big legacy carriers.
To show their commitment to our region, the company brought one of their newly refitted jets to the recent air show at the Air Force base. I met their chief pilot and went inside the plane to look at the classy leather seats that are part of the interior upgrade. The legroom was comparable or perhaps even better than coach seating on larger jets flown by major airlines.
Support your local low fare airline
As we pursued AirTran last year, we emphasized over and over again to our business community that they and the public must support low fare carriers once they enter our market. So let the word go forth throughout our tri-county community that everyone should make sure they give a portion of their air travel business to Independence Air. I’ve already done so personally and expect to do so many more times.
Keep in mind that the legacy carriers will likely drop their fares to match or come close to Independence Air’s fares, so don’t let that dissuade you. The only way we can keep fares low here is to patronize low fare carriers. After all, we know the alternatives all too well. A statistical analysis I did earlier this year indicated that a combined total of about 350,000 people traveling to and from Charleston drive to airports in Myrtle Beach, Savannah and even Atlanta instead of using Charleston International Airport due to our high fares.
So expect things to get busier at our airport—we have a fine facility and a new parking garage under construction. As our passenger counts grow, I’m sure we’ll continue to find that our airport is very convenient to fly into or out of, but be patient if things get a bit busier in and around the terminal.
A huge plus
Independence Air’s home base and hub is at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, D.C. From there, the airline will fly to many of the cities in the Northeast and Midwest that are most popular with Charleston travelers. It’s going to be a huge plus for us.
This is the dawn of a new age of air travel for the Charleston region. Let’s enjoy it and take full advantage of it!
