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I honestly don't see Independance lasting too long... UAL has already targeted that airline with lower airfare sales, better Mileage Plus benefits flying to/from IAD, etc.
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That's a fair opinion! I just hope, for the DC Metro area, it turns out to be wrong. Other than SW in BWI, there's no LCCs based out of the DC-3 with any sort of formidable presence. I'm not an anti-legacy guy who simply backs LCCs. Heck, I've been a HUGE United fan for both business and personal travel. It's just nice to see a little competition now out of Dulles where United rates have slowly been creeping up and service slowing dwindling /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif.
Also, you might already know this, but I-Air isn't new to the industry... they are 11 years old, operating under the name Atlantic Coast Airlines for United and Delta Express. United tried to lower the "fee for departure" agreement they had with ACA after they filed for bankrupcy. That's when ACA said "peace" and formed I-Air. Operating under a "fee for departure" environment is very different than the new business model, which is much more expensive considering all the overhead they require now (i.e. reservations, marketing, etc.). Hopefully they can stay afloat and keep the competition around. From what I understand, they are heavily funded by private investors. Hopefully the Airbus will help defray some of the higher costs associated with an all-RJ fleet. Only time will tell.