Independence Air Considers Bid On United Feeder Routes Thursday December 23, 2:13 PM EST McLEAN, Va. (AP)--Independence Air, which has struggled since its launch six months ago as an independent low-fare carrier, has been asked by bankrupt United Airlines to return as a feeder carrier, a company spokesman said Thursday. Rick DeLisi, a spokesman for Independence Air's Dulles, Va., corporate parent, Flyi Inc. (FLYI), said the company received an unsolicited request from UAL Corp.'s (UALAQ) United to bid on the regional feeder routes. He said that the company has discussed the issue with United, but declined to confirm that the company actually submitted a bid. "We have always said that we would be open to listening to any idea," DeLisi said. Flyi executives had previously stated they would consider a return to flying as a regional carrier. Independence Air launched in June as a low-cost carrier based out of Dulles International Airport, near Washington D.C. The airline used a fleet of 50-seat regional jets to offer service to a variety of Eastern cities, including many smaller cities that never had a low-fare carrier. Despite round-trip fares as low as $58 and an aggressive marketing campaign, the planes have been only half full. The industry average is about 70%. The company reported losses of $83 million in the third quarter, as high fuel prices also hurt the company's bottom line. It has warned that bankruptcy is a possibility as soon as January, when it faces a series of aircraft lease payments. If Flyi were to resume as a United regional carrier, it is unclear whether it would totally abandon the Independence Air brand, or continue operations in a hybrid role. Independence Air has altered its business model in recent months by tweaking its route network and making its tickets available through traditional travel booking networks. The airline had hoped to keep costs down by selling tickets exclusively through its Web site, but found that business travelers often still rely on traditional distribution networks to purchase tickets. Many of Independence Air's routes cater more to business travelers. Independence Air has also been under pressure from its largest shareholder, Boston-based PAR Capital Management, to end its experiment as a low-fare carrier and resume its role as an express carrier for United. PAR, which has acquired a 10% stake in the company over the last two months, wrote a letter to the Flyi board of directors Nov. 15, stating that "you no longer have the luxury of blindly pursuing a strategy that will clearly require more financial resources than you have at your disposal, thereby inevitably leading to the complete destruction of shareholder value and the substantial impairment of your creditor liabilities." Flyi, formerly known as Atlantic Coast Airlines, embarked on the Independence Air experiment after United Airlines filed for bankruptcy and sought to sharply curtail the profit margins of its regional carriers. Though some analysts questioned the wisdom of trying to run a low-fare airline with regional jets, which generally have higher unit costs, Flyi executives said the potential rewards of establishing a successful independent carrier outweighed the risks. Roger EWROPS