Company To Discontinue Operations Thursday Night

It's official. Monday morning, the parent company of Independence Air, Flyi, announced to its customers and employees the airline will cease operations January 5, after 7:00 pm EST. That's two days sooner than the company originally predicted, in its December 29 announcement that was reported by Aero-News.

Below is the text of a letter the company posted on its website, available at the FMI link below, to its customers. The airline's last flight is expected to be Flight 1777 from White Plains, NY to Washington Dulles departing at 7:26pm Thursday 1/5.

Today Is A Sad Day For Independence Air

Today we must announce that we will be ceasing scheduled service operations this Thursday evening, January 5. The financial pressures in the industry have prevailed. We have run out of time.

It has been an amazing 18 months. We set out to challenge the status quo and to re-set your expectations about air travel. We set out to introduce you to lower fares and a new level of service delivered by employees who care. Currently ranked #2 in customer satisfaction among all US airlines, we are proud that we did indeed earn your respect and loyalty. We are proud that we built a brand so universally praised by over 8 million customers. We are proud of the mark we have made.

Customers with reservations whose trips are completed between now and Thursday evening should expect the same great service for which we have become known.

Additionally, we are seeking bankruptcy court approval to automatically provide refunds to customers holding reservations on flights occurring after our shutdown of operations on January 5th. No refunds will be offered for free tickets or vouchers.

Finally, we will be contacting those customers with itineraries that start before and end after our shutdown (including those customers who have already commenced their travel) to offer them the opportunity to change their return reservations to a flight on one of our remaining days of operation if possible. Customers can immediately change travel dates on their own by visiting the “Change Itinerary” section of our website, FLYi.com. All change fees will be waived when travel dates are changed via our website, but a difference in fare could be incurred (unfortunately, this results from a website process that cannot be disabled). Alternatively, if moving the return trip to one of our remaining operating days is not feasible, we are also seeking bankruptcy court approval to refund any amounts paid by these customers for their return reservations.

Please be aware that under section 145 of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (November 19, 2001) Congress has obligated U.S. airlines to offer stand-by transportation to passengers holding un-refunded tickets for airlines that have ceased operations due to insolvency or bankruptcy. The Act stipulates that passengers must make their request to carriers serving the same routes as the bankrupt carrier and must do so within 60 days of the cessation of service. The U.S. Department of Transportation has ruled that airlines who offer the stand-by transportation may charge $50 one-way per person to cover related expenses.

Today is a sad day for Independence Air. Today is a sad day for our customers who have gotten used to tender loving service and paying less for air travel. We will miss serving you. Thank you for your vigorous support.

FMI: www.flyi.com