Independence Air iClub - Amtrak causes Indy to have fuller planes

saw this on the WSJ yesterday:

"In part because of the Acela shutdown, FLYi Inc.'s Independence Air said its flights from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Washington's Dulles are full this coming Friday except for the last trip of the day. "

So is Indy going to seize the opportunity to find a way to fit in more flights to NYC and BOS until Amtrak get's the brakes fixed?

I heard today that the Acela might be down for a few weeks, instead of the original few days that was announced. I was looking for flights to JFK last night for mid-May and could almost watch the fares increase as tickets were being sold. Good for them, but looks like I'm going to Newark instead.

I don't know that there are any spare machines to run extra IAD-JFK routes, though they could probably reduce a frequency somewhere to open up an RJ for an extra round-trip or two.

The difference between Acela and the regular Regional Express train is only an extra 30 minutes (and a good bit cheaper), so I'm surprised that many people would bother going through the hassle to get out to IAD and go through security.

I'm on late IAD-JFK tonight, which now looks sold out. And on the late return Sunday, which seems to be filling.

Feel free to substitute an Airbus. :D

I heard today that the Acela might be down for a few weeks, instead of the original few days that was announced. I was looking for flights to JFK last night for mid-May and could almost watch the fares increase as tickets were being sold. Good for them, but looks like I'm going to Newark instead.

I don't know that there are any spare machines to run extra IAD-JFK routes, though they could probably reduce a frequency somewhere to open up an RJ for an extra round-trip or two.

The difference between Acela and the regular Regional Express train is only an extra 30 minutes (and a good bit cheaper), so I'm surprised that many people would bother going through the hassle to get out to IAD and go through security.

The latest news that we've been sadly discussing in the Amtrak forum is Acela being down for a couple months, until the summer. Surprising as it may sound, take away the sleek train and the prospect of nice amenities and the regionals are not all that appealing to many. Metroliners will be replacing Acelas between DC and NY, and even up to Boston on some runs on weekdays starting May 2 so that should bring some back to the train.

More on topic, the WSJ reporter was looking for info on this whole situation on FT and made a few contacts. I spoke to her and perhaps some other FTers did too.


Cheers.

The latest news that we've been sadly discussing in the Amtrak forum is Acela being down for a couple months, until the summer.

More on topic, the WSJ reporter was looking for info on this whole situation on FT and made a few contacts. I spoke to her and perhaps some other FTers did too.

Cheers,
Chris

Good to know that we are being used as a reliable source of information from the likes of the Wall Street Journal.

On the FLYi side though, if service is really going to be that bad until summer I wonder if they will find some way to squeeze in an Airbus trip or 2 to either JFK or BOS.
If they do I hope that they don't cut it too close and put other routes at risk.

The difference between Acela and the regular Regional Express train is only an extra 30 minutes (and a good bit cheaper), so I'm surprised that many people would bother going through the hassle to get out to IAD and go through security.

If you live or work closer to IAD than Union Station, Independence Air is faster than the train, especially when you consider the DC-area traffic one might encounter getting from the Virginia suburbs to the train station.

The area around Dulles is very fast-growing both in residential and commercial development, so despite the security hassles, it's generally faster for people who live or work near IAD to fly up to New York.

For DC proper, however, the train (or the US/DL/AA shuttle out of DCA) is still going to be faster.

Good to know that we are being used as a reliable source of information from the likes of the Wall Street Journal.

On the FLYi side though, if service is really going to be that bad until summer I wonder if they will find some way to squeeze in an Airbus trip or 2 to either JFK or BOS.
If they do I hope that they don't cut it too close and put other routes at risk.

There are three A319 flights starting on May 1 to Boston in addition to 5 CRJ flights.

BBB

There are three A319 flights starting on May 1 to Boston in addition to 5 CRJ flights.

BBB

DO we know that for SURE? How do you tell which flights are CRJ and which are Airbus?

DO we know that for SURE? How do you tell which flights are CRJ and which are Airbus?

The Airbus flight numbers are different than the CRJ flight numbers. The Airbus flight numbers are normally in the ten's or hundred's range, while the CRJ flights are always in the thousand's range. You could also call FLYI to make sure before booking.

DO we know that for SURE? How do you tell which flights are CRJ and which are Airbus?

Here's the A319 flights -- starting sunday 5/1/05

ENJOY

IAD-BOS
Flight 117 departs 8:10am
Flight 131 departs 10:25am
Flight 138 departs 9:30pm

BOS-IAD
Flight 139 departs 6:00am
Flight 120 departs 10:15am
Flight 134 departs 5:45pm

Good to know that we are being used as a reliable source of information from the likes of the Wall Street Journal.

WSJ reporters have used FT for quite some time. I've been contacted twice for articles that journalists wanted to write about some travel topic.

Back to topic -- the flights I was looking at have gone up even more. I've got some JFK-RDU flights I'm looking at in a few weeks that are pricing out at $199 + taxes right now. Hopefully people are booking these fares and DH is getting some good revenue out of it. If Acela could be profitable, that's a lot of money to go around to the airlines flying to the New England area.

It is very true, I used to be able to buy tickets last minute for JFK-IAD and EWR-IAD without much trouble.

Now many of the flights are sold out one or two days before. However, I have found this to be true of the prime shuttle flights as well.

Dan

Here's the A319 flights -- starting sunday 5/1/05

ENJOY

IAD-BOS
Flight 117 departs 8:10am
Flight 131 departs 10:25am
Flight 138 departs 9:30pm

BOS-IAD
Flight 139 departs 6:00am
Flight 120 departs 10:15am
Flight 134 departs 5:45pm

I haven't flown Flyi since they were ACA. Has the seat configuration changed from then? I'm wondering if the A319's are more comfortable than the CRJ's (probably) but by how much.

Anyone care to comment?

Here's the A319 flights -- starting sunday 5/1/05

ENJOY

IAD-BOS
Flight 117 departs 8:10am
Flight 131 departs 10:25am
Flight 138 departs 9:30pm

BOS-IAD
Flight 139 departs 6:00am
Flight 120 departs 10:15am
Flight 134 departs 5:45pm

Actually there have been some slight flight number changes for the May schedule and you can't rely on the three digit numbers to be A319's like I said in a previous post. For example, for the BOS flights listed above flt 117 is actually a CRJ, and flight 1124 is a A319. Returning flight 120 is a CRJ and flight 1127 is a A319.

I haven't flown Flyi since they were ACA. Has the seat configuration changed from then? I'm wondering if the A319's are more comfortable than the CRJ's (probably) but by how much.

Anyone care to comment?

The CRJs are more comfortable than they were as ACA, and the 319s are better than the new CRJs. I'd say the 319 seats are comparable to Jetblue and any major out there with seats made in the last decade. I'd say they're better than the DL MD88 or NW DC-9 seats.