This page was sent to you by: psa188@xxxxxxxxx BUSINESS | February 8, 2005 Memo Pad: A Transcontinental Challenge JOE SHARKEY A TRANSCONTINENTAL CHALLENGE The troubled carrier Independence Air said yesterday that it would start low-fare nonstop flights to the West Coast this spring, plunging into transcontinental routes, the most fiercely competitive market in the domestic airline industry. Independence said that it would begin flying between its hub at Washington Dulles International Airport and San Diego on April 4 and to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and San Jose, Calif., on May 1, using new 132-passenger Airbus A319 aircraft. The low-fare carrier, which began independent service in November 2003 after operating as a regional jet service for United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, has been struggling financially. Last month, its load factor - the average percentage of seats sold on each flight - was 45.7 percent, well below the average of 70 percent to 80 percent of competitors. Transcontinental flights have "always been part of the plan for Independence Air," said Rick DeLisi, a spokesman. He said the strategy was to promote low-fare transcontinental flights to passengers connecting to Dulles from airports on the East Coast. Another low-fare carrier, America West, recently abandoned the transcontinental flights that it introduced in 2003, citing intense price-cutting by competitors. Since it dropped out of that market, America West said, some of its competitors' transcontinental fares have gone up by as much as 130 percent. It is not clear if Independence Air's plans will set off more fare wars. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/08/business/08memo.html?ex=1108530000&en=90a9d4377ae02c66&ei=5070 ----------------- Advertisement -------------------------- <TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="5" CELLSPACING="0" BGCOLOR="#F8F5EC"> <tr><TD><font size="2"> /--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight Pictures ------------\<br><br> ONLY ONE COMEDY HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR BEST PICTURE <br><br> SIDEWAYS has been nominated for 5 OSCARS including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. Critics across America agree... SIDEWAYS is the BEST PICTURE of the year. SIDEWAYS stars Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Sandra Oh and Virginia Madsen. Now playing in theaters everywhere. Watch the trailer at:<br><br> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/business&pos=Center1A&camp=foxsearch-emailtools03-nyt5&ad=center1a-text&goto=http://www.foxsearchlight.com/sideways/index_nyt.html";> http://www.foxsearchlight.com/sideways/index_nyt.html</a> </font></td> </tr></table> ----------------- Advertisement -------------------------- 0 ---------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT THIS E-MAIL This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service. For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@xxxxxxxxxxxx NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018 Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company