Independence Air / Portland Loads
 

Well, I'm trying to plan my first ever trip to Maine, and many of the weekend flights in June and July on Independence are either gone or selling well. Portland folks (and visitors) must be starved for service.

Pwm
 

They came out last week and told us the PWM was the best selling market so far. I think you will see that in a lot of the secondary cities such as CAE, LAN, and GSP. These cities have never, or don't now, have low fare service and now they do. Our director of communication said it best yesterday when he talked about how we appeal to the business traveler, with lots of flights, and also the vacationers who are after the low price. Think about how many people from the secodary cities that used to drive to the primary airport to get the low fares, and now have another choice.

Umm, well, not exactly. I am a VFF living in PWM and can tell you that we have seen our lift dwindle to about 60% of what it was 30 months ago. We remain a heavy seasonal traffic airport. We have been significantly dealt a blow in that US was our largest major carrier (in terms of pax lift) and also had mainline UA/DL/NW/CO. That's significant. Then along came post 9/11 and the rest is history.

Yes, PWM was always one of ACA's hottest cities both in terms of station profit and pax loads. IA couldn't get back here fast enough! I wish them well!

However, in all cases IA's launch fares have been fully matched by all competitors. Indeed, our fares from PWM to FL have almost always been in the $220 range anyway. And the occasional sale has dipped FLL/MIA into the $169 level -- lower than IA. Just three weeks ago, I booked to EYW for $198 on US/UA.

Just please don't proclaim from the mountaintops that IA is finally here --- riding in on the white horse to save us all from the horrific reigns of the money grubbing majors who have pillaged our towns for lo these many decades.....

I apologize if my post came off that way, that wasn't really the intent. I know that the majors are matching all our fares which is good for the consumer. I also know that fares weren't that bad to begin with. From a business stand point, I guess I have just heard so much over the last few months that this business model simply won't work and that we are stupid for trying it. I think that having the highest LF's in cities like PWM and CAE so far helps in showing that maybe it will work. I never intended to get on a high horse and proclaim that we were here to save everyone from the evil clutches of the majors. Just trying to show my thought process in saying why I think this business model will work if executed properly. :)