Random and quite specific EWR-IND musing
 

I live in NYC but am originally from central Indiana. I have been very curious to try out the new airport at IND (and visit friends -- OK, mostly to see the new airport), but a while back CO switched all EWR-IND service to ERJs (even during the heavy-travel run-up to the Indy 500 in May), which as a plat lessens the fun of the trip for me (no EUA opportunities). However, I notice that starting on September 1, CO has reinstated CO 621 in a 733 or 735 for the indefinite future, without any apparent lessening in flight frequency. I realize that I am perhaps encouraging rank speculation against my better FT judgment, but does anyone have any thoughts on why this might be so?

Likely fewer more 738/739s in the fleet pushing the smaller planes down the line to less busy routes. CLT picked back up a mainline flight, too.

With the capacity cuts going on there are fewer planes flying and they are looking to get the best value they can from the birds they own.
</rank speculation>

Thanks for the quick and logical (albeit speculative -- what else could it be?) response. The only thing is that CO 621 for many years operated EWR-IND daily (except Sat.) using a 733/735, and CO downgraded the time slot to an ERJ just as the new airport opened last fall. So why drop it and then, 10 months later, reinstate it?

Lots of things have changed in the past 10 months. CO has announced two different rounds of capacity cuts and an acceleration of the retirement of the 737 classics, among other things.

More IND schedule oddities
 

I no longer see the return of CO621 mainline EWR-IND service in September in the schedule, but I have noticed another big upcoming change in CO's IND schedule... Starting this October 1, there is a large increase in mainline service IND-IAH, going from 1x735, 1xCRJ, 4xERJ to as much as 1x733, 2x735, 2xERJ.

The strange thing is that on Nov. 1 the service reverts back to the old mainly ERJ schedule.

Any ideas why CO would boost mainline service to IND for the month of October only?

Could it be that schedule changes are only loaded through October and that changes to equipment for November are still to come?

Remember IND was NW's largest non-hub city.....so I'm sure LK is just trying to get some additional inventory back into the market now that the code-sharing is almost over