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Local fliers bemoan loss of Independence Air

The airline struggled to find a niche during its 19 months in the air. Its final flight is Thursday.

By STEVE HUETTEL
Published January 4, 2006

TAMPA - For the past year, Nicholai Finizio commuted to her job at a northern Virginia tech company each week on an Airbus jet flown by Independence Air.

She liked the new planes, cheap fares and especially the attitudes of crew members.

"Nice and friendly without being obnoxious," said Finizio, who lives with her boyfriend on a 20-foot sailboat in the St. Petersburg Marina.

On Tuesday, she and other regular Independence customers from the Tampa Bay area were disappointed, if not surprised, to hear the bankrupt carrier would stop flying Thursday night.

Independence flew for less than 19 months, crippled by high fuel costs, stiff competition and what many experts called a fatally flawed business plan.

The airline filed for protection from creditors in November, hoping an investor would step forward. But parent company Flyi Inc. warned employees last week that the airline would close as soon as Saturday without a buyer.

When no one made a firm bid that would keep Independence flying by Monday, chief executive Kerry Skeen said the airline would make its last scheduled flight - from White Plains, N.Y., to Independence's hub at Washington Dulles International Airport - on Thursday evening.

This week, Independence is contacting passengers scheduled to return home after the Thursday cutoff to rebook them on earlier flights. Other airlines, such as US Airways and AirTran Airways, are offering to let ticketed Independence customers fly standby for a $50 change fee each one-way leg once the airline shuts down.

A former regional carrier for United Airlines and Delta, Independence launched in June 2004 as a discount airline with 87 small, 50-seat regional jets. But because small jets cost more to fly per seat, analysts said, Independence could never cover expenses charging low fares.

The airline arrived at Tampa International Airport that November with nonstop flights to small cities like Charleston, S.C., and Huntsville, Ala. Independence pulled out the local small jet flights last year after Delta Connection jumped into the same markets.

The airline had more success with full-size jet flights from Tampa to Dulles. Independence made two to three roundtrip flights daily, making the route its fifth-busiest last month, according to data provided by Back Aviation Services to USA Today.

Frequent flier Dave Kennedy said the comfortable seats and new planes reminded him of JetBlue Airways, the popular discounter that frequently ranks at the top of customer satisfaction surveys.

But while JetBlue splashes its name over billboard and newspapers across Florida, Independence bought little advertising outside the Washington, D.C, area, said Kennedy, a relocation consultant who lives in Tampa.

Local travelers will still have plenty of choices for flights to Washington.

Southwest and AirTran Airways fly a combined 10 daily trips to Baltimore/Washington International Airport, US Airways has four to Reagan Washington National Airport and United's low-fare arm, Ted, has four to Dulles.

On her last flight to Dulles on Independence on Tuesday, Finizio said employees and customers exchanged goodbyes and the captain told passengers it was his last flight. But no one specifically mentioned the airline was shutting down in two days, she said.

Her return trip to Tampa at 7:40 p.m. Thursday was canceled. An agent moved Finizio's final flight on Independence to the morning - no charge.

Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or 813 226-3384.

[Last modified January 4, 2006, 01:06:11]