Independence Air to Discontinue Operations: Airline Will Keep Flying Through Thursday Evening, January 5thtitle
DULLES, Va., Jan. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - FLYi, Inc., (Nasdaq: FLYIQ)
parent of low-fare airline Independence Air, announced today that because of
the continued financial challenges facing the company, it will voluntarily
discontinue all scheduled flights planned to depart after 7:00pm(*) on the
evening of Thursday, January 5th. The company is seeking bankruptcy court
approval to automatically refund customers with reservations for flights
scheduled to depart beyond that time.
Customers with roundtrip reservations for trips departing before the
cessation of operations (including those customers who have already departed)
but were scheduled to return afterwards will be contacted by Independence Air
and offered the opportunity to change their return reservations to one of the
remaining days of operation. All change fees will be waived for changes made
by phone. The company is also seeking bankruptcy court approval to
automatically refund customers for those return flights that are not
rescheduled. No refunds will be offered for free tickets or vouchers.
Customers whose trips are scheduled between now and Thursday evening
should expect the same excellent service that Independence Air has become
known for.
Independence Air Chairman and CEO Kerry Skeen said, "While weve been
clear in reminding everyone that this was a possibility, we remained
optimistic that there would be a way to avoid reaching this juncture. To date
there has not been a firm offer put forward that meets the financial criteria
necessary to continue operations as is. Therefore, we are voluntarily
discontinuing scheduled service as of Thursday evening.
We offer our sincere thanks to the over eight million customers who have
flown with us since the launch of Independence Air, and to the communities
across America that we have served."
Skeen continued. "And most importantly, we thank our extraordinary
employees for creating an airline brand that has been so universally praised
by our customers. Our people have demonstrated that they are capable of
operating an airline that quickly rose to the top of the rankings in every
major independent survey of airline quality and customer satisfaction. And
while this is a profoundly sad day for all of us, we could not be more proud
of our employees and everything they have accomplished."
Customers are urged to visit the airlines http://www.FLYi.com website if they
have further questions as callers to the companys toll-free number will
likely experience long wait times.
Independence Air began service on June 16, 2004 and currently offers over
200 daily departures to 37 destinations.
The company has advised the public, and reiterates, that the likely
outcome of the companys bankruptcy proceeding is the cancellation of the
companys existing common stock without consideration, making FLYi stock of no
value.
Independence Air, FLYi, the "i" logo mark and FLYi.com are service marks
of Independence Air, Inc. (C)Independence Air, Inc. 2006.
(*) Flight 1777 from White Plains, NY to Washington Dulles departing at
7:26pm is still expected to operate on Thursday 1/5.
