Independence airlines
 

Has anyone flown Independence Air? They seems to have excellent fares from Portland Maine to Greenville/Spartanburg. What did you think?
Thanks,
sj

great airline/ cash flow problems- you missed the $44 anywhere they go sale that ended last night

try posting on the airlines forum, they like to talk about airlines there.

I thought they were great, especially for the money. Flights are usually not full so you can move to a better seat and get your luggage super quickly. Excellent service from flight attendants and airport staff.

I'm flying with them soon, so i will let you know how they are! Seems like people have mostly good things to say about them so i'm expecting my experience to be very good. And yes, they do have great fares!

Load factor for January is <50%. The rest of the industry in in the high 70's. So, their planes are definitely empty.

Most of their flights are on regional jets, if that matter to you.

We love Independence Air and use them whenever possible. Hope they make it, great service, very effecient. I highly recommend them.

Yes, I use them to go from DC to Manchester, NH twice a year. They are OK, but they have issues with being on time, at least on this route.

I usually get delayed one way of the trip for at least a little while, and over Christmas they ended up having to drive me to Boston to fly me home - that was a LONG day and I was not amused. They canceled my flight for mechanical problems and were booked the rest of the day in Manchester.

But, I will continue to fly them, as they are cheap and generally pretty good. They also let you get on earlier flights free if you are at the airport early. Twice the flight BEFORE mine was delayed, and since I was at the airport, I was able to get on the earlier flight and get to Manchester earlier than planned. It saved me from having to sit in the airport for an hour.

Karen

My husband used them this past weekend. Flight to Boston arrived on time this past Thurs. evening and he is currently airborne back to Dulles a few minutes ahead of schedule. This is the third time he has flown Independence and hasn't had any delays or issues so far...

rkkwan- Why is their load factor at 50%. They have such cheap flights that i'm just wondering why people wouldn't fly with them more?

Independence Air previously was Atlantic Coast Airlines and operated a variety of routes as United Express (and perhaps regional routes for other carriers??) before they decided to fly under their own new brand. We flew with them plenty of times as UX. As others have said, it's mostly regional jet service and they do have some financial issues. But as far as service goes, (and I can't believe I'm saying this) I think I actually preferred them to our current UX carrier, Air Wisconsin.

For one thing, they fly mostly 50-seat regional jets. Even though it's a jet, it's still not as comfortable as the 737/320 or larger planes offered by other airlines.

And despite all the positive comments you may see here, Atlantic Coast does not have a good service reputation, at least for their United Express operation at Dulles. Maybe they've improve, maybe not.

Also, when they first started out as Independence, they tried to follow Southwest's ticketing model, and only post their fares and sell their tickets through their own website. So, you won't find them when you search Travelocity, Orbitz, etc. They've changed course, and the load factor has improved a little, but still pretty poor.

Also, unlike Southwest, which started many years ago with just a few routes, and slowly build their network, name and reputation, Independence is trying to sell a product overnight in dozens of markets - where nobody has ever heard of such an airline.

Anyways, they are now hoping to hit a load factor of 60% by March. We'll see.

I just went to West Palm Beach with this great price I found on Independence Air. I really enjoyed flying with them, they offer all these great amenities that you don’t get with many airlines, like big leather seats, a choice of snack (pretzels get so boring, it’s nice to have a choice!) and their staff is so friendly. Best part was getting a coupon for $20 off my next trip with them...I'll definitely be using it!

I flew on them this past weekend. Good experience. The flights were full - but they only seat about 50 people on the CRJs anyway. They may well have too many slots/planes currently chasing too few passengers, but they are giving up some planes soon I hear (not sure about slots).

My current flight instructor is a Captain with them, and my first one left to go fly with Air Whisky - they are supposed to be one of the most stable regionals, from what I hear.

I'd say support them if you can - prices are good, and right now they are giving double FF miles through June 30 - and you only need 1500 points (i.e. 750, now) to get a free one way ticket.

My son and his girlfriend use it frequently flying between Dulles and Pittsburgh. Cheaper than driving!

Anyone heard any more rumblings of bankruptcy or reorganization -- esp. since they bought those Airbuses?

Have flown them numerous times and love them! They even broke out snacks (drinks, cookies, chips) at the gate when we were notified of a weather delay. Great service.

I believe that ordering the new airbuses and paying for them are two separate things.

HKP - apparently they solved their problems for the time being. They are giving back some of the planes and will likely reduce headcount. In return, they get a free pass for some time. Not sure how long, but it sounded like a few years? I only skimmed the article this morning.

Alright well i'm leaving for my trip tomm with independence, so thought i would let you guys know. I'll let you know how the flight goes:)