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Final Boarding Call For Independence Air

Janury 2, 2006
Bankrupt Independence Air, which operated for less than two years, will cease operations January 5, the company has announced. In a statement, Independence Air said it has received no firm offers that would keep its planes in the air.

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The last flight will leave White Plains, New York, at 7:26 p.m. Eastern time Jan. 5 for Washington, DC's Dulles Airport.

The low-fare carrier declared bankruptcy just two months ago, a victim of skyrocketing jet fuel costs. But the airline was in financial trouble almost from its much-heralded start.

Independence Air was launched with great fanfare less than two years ago after operating profitably for years as Atlantic Coast Airlines, a regional feeder airline for United and Delta. The airline won praise from some passengers, but didn't attract enough of them to justify its rock-bottom fares.

Airline analysts had predicted a short flight since Day One.

"It was always a bad concept and never made sense," Vaughn Cordle, CEO of Airline Forecasts Inc., said.

"None of the big carriers would give up seat capacity. They matched them on every route. Even with their own bankruptcy problems, all three major airlines had more financial resources than tiny Independence."

Before the announcement of its demise, Independence was booking flights as far out as April 2006.

Customers who used a credit card to buy their ticket can dispute the charge with the credit card company and receive a credit. Travelers holding tickets can also redeem them on competing airlines for a fee of $50 each way through next Nov. 30, under a law passed by Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

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