Independence Air First Airbus Pics

RDUDDJI · Wed Aug 18, 2004 4:37 am

Looks like a temp German registration

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Photo © R.Hesse

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Photo © R.Hesse

cbphoto · Wed Aug 18, 2004 4:50 am

Hmmm....Looks very nice...the blue circles around the windows make the 319 look very nice indeed. Good Job, and Good Luck to Independence air!!

nearord · Wed Aug 18, 2004 4:55 am

She is a beauty. Can't wait to see a bunch of them flying around IAD.

nudelhirsch · Wed Aug 18, 2004 4:57 am

Those pics have been taken in Finkenwerder. It is the airfield used by Airbus in Hamburg. So the reg is temporary Airbus reg, and like the pic comment states will be re-regged. You can also see the American Flag next to the reg.
This bird is thus still in the factory and seems to be ready for delivery soon...

ushermittwoch · Wed Aug 18, 2004 4:58 am

The nose section looks a little too dull IMHO.
But as long as the bird serves Independence Air well, that's all that matters.

Nice to see some more A319's going to the US.
Smile

optionscle · Wed Aug 18, 2004 5:00 am

I'm NOT a fan of this livery. The tail section looks very nice, but the blue dots around the windows make it look like a 4 year old designed the darn thing.

-Andrew

BCAInfoSys · Wed Aug 18, 2004 5:01 am

That's a good lookin bird! My only gripe is the grey around the base of the horizontal stabilizers.. they really should paint that so it doesn't break up the theme of the tail...

Other then that.. a decent lookin little 'bus...

fightingdingo · Wed Aug 18, 2004 5:02 am

What routes will the Airbus operate?

GSPSPOT · Wed Aug 18, 2004 5:11 am

OptionsCLE:

I've never been a fan of that part of IDE's livery. I think a thin blue line outlining the window itself would be much better...

SkyvanMan · Wed Aug 18, 2004 6:07 am

Same question as Flighting Dingo. What routes will they operate the A319 on. WIll it be the IAD-PWM (Portland, Maine) route. That route is always sold out from my experience at the airport in Portland. It might only be that way because of the Summer though, that is the time when I am in Maine. Anyways I am wondering where they will park them as they only have room right now for aircraft that you walk out onto the tarmac to get on to.

GSPSPOT · Wed Aug 18, 2004 6:09 am

I thought at least DL had jetways at PWM(?)...

corey07850 · Wed Aug 18, 2004 6:11 am

The 319's are going to be mainly used on the longer flights, as well as to most of the new Florida destinations

SkyvanMan · Wed Aug 18, 2004 6:15 am

At PWM Delta has a Jetway. I think NW does too. United doesn't at least from my memorries tehy don't use it. I flew back on them and they used it but with steps down to tarmac.

miamix707 · Wed Aug 18, 2004 6:28 am

The nose section looks a little too dull IMHO

dull? I don't see what's so dull about it. However since they went through all that trouble to paint each window, if they painted the nose blue it would look very cool

I love the livery except for the dark blue engines..should have left those white. Good to see an ugly aircraft like the 319 looking sharp dressed up in a cool livery.

CcrlR · Wed Aug 18, 2004 6:38 am

OHHHHAHHAHHAHHHAHHHHAHH! It looks good. sorry, couldn't help it, I was waiting for it to come.

I can't wait to fly on that from IAD-LAS-IAD next summer. I persuaded my parents to fly on Independence Air, but we may change airlines. Smokin cool

Still neat to see!

westindian425 · Wed Aug 18, 2004 6:43 am

I think the livery looks fine as well; but for some reason, I can also picture it dirty, and I don't like what I see in my "mind's eye".

Neil

NWAFA · Wed Aug 18, 2004 6:45 am

How is the money in the bank at Independence holding up?? Anyone know?

burnsie28 · Wed Aug 18, 2004 10:14 am

So lets see, if they averagea 47% LF, with a bus thats what-60 seats filled LOL, but if they can only fill 47% on a CRJ-200, thats 23.5 seats filled, so we will assumed that they will have 130 seats on the A319 /23.5= So if they hold up to their current load factor, then you are looking at a possibility of only having a LF of 18.07% on the A319, and loosing 27 million in one month of ops. Thats just sad.

nwa man · Wed Aug 18, 2004 10:21 am

So lets see, if they averagea 47% LF, with a bus thats what-60 seats filled LOL, but if they can only fill 47% on a CRJ-200, thats 23.5 seats filled, so we will assumed that they will have 130 seats on the A319 /23.5= So if they hold up to their current load factor, then you are looking at a possibility of only having a LF of 18.07% on the A319, and loosing 27 million in one month of ops. Thats just sad.

Huh?

Posts like yours are the reason that people look down on a.net.

Obviously the A319s are going to be deployed on heavier routes, to FL to start with and perhaps out to the West as time moves on... CRW-IAD isn't going to be operated with an Airbus.

Regards,

N-Dub

thomasphoto60 · Wed Aug 18, 2004 10:24 am

Any news as to whether Independence will be spreading their wings to the Lone Star State, specifically Houston, preferably IAH in the near future?

BTW, what is Independence's IATA code?

Thomas

moose1226 · Wed Aug 18, 2004 10:24 am

How many people here would be willing to bet that Burnsie28 works for UA? Smile

I just flew EWR - IAD on DH today and they had 30 seats full. I wouldn't be surprised if the loads are steadily increasing as the marketing department works its magic. As a side note, Kerry Skeen was greeting passengers as we got of the flight.

What I'm interested to know is what the A319 destinations will be or at least when they'll be announced. Also, isn't DH getting some A320's, too?

clipper707 · Wed Aug 18, 2004 10:27 am

Hats off to Independence Air. Nice looking aircraft. The very best of luck to everyone at Independence Air.

CLIPPER707

SafetyDude · Wed Aug 18, 2004 10:31 am

Looks like a temp German registration
US Registration: "will re-rgd as N803BR"

Smile

-Will

burnsie28 · Wed Aug 18, 2004 10:31 am

How many people here would be willing to bet that Burnsie28 works for UA?

No, and I wouldnt fly UA ever. I also dont work for an airline Big grin

SafetyDude · Wed Aug 18, 2004 10:33 am

For more detailed pictures, see: https://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/1677122. Smile/happy/getting dizzy

-Will

moose1226 · Wed Aug 18, 2004 11:15 am

RE: Airbus Routes:

Check out page 12 of this presentation for a map of the Indy Airbus routes.

HikesWithEyes · Wed Aug 18, 2004 11:17 am

I like it, but think the nacelles should have been painted
white or the same blue as the rest of the aircraft.

unitedkatw · Wed Aug 18, 2004 12:40 pm

Not to be pestimistic, but I think it would've been cooler if they would have invested their money in the people who they are flying. The American's should buy their aircraft from American's. I hope the best for Independence Air. I just wish they would have stuck with the B737's. Maybe next round they'll invest in the American's and get something a little bigger. Maybe they'll order some B7E7's.

Carpethead · Wed Aug 18, 2004 1:11 pm

Not to turn this into a A vs B. A subcontracts many American companies.
Looks as the aircraft is powered by IAE which American company called Pratt & Whitney is a substantial stake holder. I believe many of cockpit electrical components are American in origin too.

Even if ordering a 737, half the CFM engine parts goes to a French company SNECMA. Some components are built in Japan, Taiwan, China, & elsewhere.

Before anybody says Boeing 737 is 100% American content, nothing is 100% American. It's just 100% assembled in America. Just like Airbus A319 is 100% assembled in Germany.

Indy Air selected the A319 because they thought it suited them better.
Great color scheme!
Best of wishes I-Air!

aer · Wed Aug 18, 2004 3:31 pm

The tail section looks very nice, but the blue dots around the windows make it look like a 4 year old designed the darn thing

Who knows... Smile

moose1226 · Wed Aug 18, 2004 9:19 pm

Unitedkatw,

Do you feel the same way about United?

Or USAiways
Or Northwest
Or Spirit
Or Frontier
Or JetBlue
...

There are many American carriers that (happily) use Airbus products in their fleet. Just as there are many foreign carriers that (happily) use Boeing.

That aside, one of the reasons that DH picked Airbus is that it was possibly to receive aircraft much faster. Every extra day that they have to rely solely on CRJs is bad for Indy. Believe me, airlines DON'T consider country of origin to a great extent when choosing aircraft.

As much as the president would like you to think, not everything we buy has to be made in the USA.

BTW... The shirt you are wearing was probably made in either China or some small Pacific Island. Ditto for the keyboard you are typing on. Smile

MEA321 · Wed Aug 18, 2004 9:26 pm

I was at IAD over the weekend transfering flights. I had quite a long time there so I had a good chance to see Independence Air for the first time. They surprised me with the large amount of CRJs they operate.

Does anyone know how many CRJs are in their fleet? How many expected to be delivered? Same goes for Airbus.

moose1226 · Wed Aug 18, 2004 9:38 pm

MEA321,

They have 87 CRJs, and they have none on order.

They have 10 A319s on firm order, and 12 are being leased. Also, they have 5 A320s on order.

SafetyDude · Wed Aug 18, 2004 9:43 pm

I like it, but think the nacelles should have been painted
white or the same blue as the rest of the aircraft.

If you are talking about the metal part behind the front part of the engine, they get extremely dirty. If painted, after two weeks of flying, you would not be able to see the paint. The only type that you may have seen "painted" are planes fresh out of the factory, but they just wear a protective-coating-type-thing.

Smile

-Will

DfwRevolution · Wed Aug 18, 2004 9:51 pm

dull? I don't see what's so dull about it.

I don't see why you must criticise his opinion... but whateva

I'm not a huge fan of this color scheme, but it isn't the worst out there so that counts for somethig. And the CFM engine nacells are way cooler (and bigger Big thumbs up

) than the IAE engine nacells.... these just look like hair dryers

UN_B732 · Wed Aug 18, 2004 10:11 pm

flyI is getting A320s?!?!?!? I thought it was CRJ/A319
Cool!
-Mr. X

ny-jfk-lga · Wed Aug 18, 2004 10:45 pm

From my understanding, (I work for IDE) I think its only A-319s we going to get. The order was changed a lil' while ago. So just the 319's I think.

voodoo · Wed Aug 18, 2004 11:06 pm

Still a TV antenna be eventually retrofitted on top of the fuselage of those iBuses.

nearord · Wed Aug 18, 2004 11:53 pm

For the fleet update

87 CRJ's, still technically have 34 on order, but have a right to CX if UA contract is buh buy. Now that it is, those 34 will soon be CX

All airbii are the A319 right now. we have 28 firm and 49 more options. The options are for either the 19/20 but they have stated for now all deliveries will be the 319 for complete fleet commonality. The first one is to come in about 2 weeks, will be in revenue service by Nov. the last firm delivery is may 2006. So about 18 months for 28 busses.

Yes the reason we bought the bus was because of delivery date. The earliest boeing promised anything was 2006. flying a fleet of RJ's around losing money for almost 2 years before the NB doesn't make sense. I'm sure we would have gone with the boeing had they been able to offer a similar delivery schedule.

As far as the TV antenna, since we switched vendors late in the game because of LiveTV yanking our chain, the first 2 wont be ready for the TV, they will be retrofitted and by jan or feb be fully up to speed. The 3rd one will feature the system, which is the Mats system by the way. I for one am extremely happy we decided to go with mats, their system is 10 times better than livetv. That will be up running by the beginning of the year.

LifelinerOne · Wed Aug 18, 2004 11:54 pm

Why is it that I have some SABENA old c/s flashbacks?

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ludavid777 · Thu Aug 19, 2004 1:29 am

The first two Airbus destinations should be announced in the next few weeks. Rumor is it will be IAD-MCO and IAD-LAX. Yesterday they announced, CAE-MCO and TYS-MCO for the RJ.

These are planned airbus routes, subject to change I'm sure. This info was obtained from the investors presentation by Independence:

FROM IAD TO:

*ORLANDO, FL
*MIAMI, FL
*FORT LAUDERDALE, FL
*TAMPA, FL
*FT MYERS, FL
*DALLAS, TX
*HOUSTON, TX
*SAN ANTONIO, TX
*AUSTIN, TX
*DENVER, CO
*LAS VEGAS, NV
*PHOENIX, AZ
*LOS ANGELES, CA
*SAN FRANCISCO, CA
*SAN DIEGO, CA
*SEATTLE, WA
*PORTLAND, OR
*MINNEAPOLIS, MO

moose1226 · Thu Aug 19, 2004 5:53 am

*MINNEAPOLIS, MO

Minneapolis was in Minnesota (MN) last time I checked. Big grin

moose1226 · Thu Aug 19, 2004 5:57 am

which is the Mats system by the way

How does the Mats system compare with LiveTV? It is a satellite TV system and not a Video System, right? Any details would be appreciated.

miamix707 · Thu Aug 26, 2004 4:00 pm

caught this thread late, I meant the whole engine!!! not nacelles oops

I didn't know Miami was a planned destination of I air.

solnabo · Thu Aug 26, 2004 8:57 pm

I think the c/s on Independence Air look´s like a crispy new livery for FinnAir!!

(a the 1st glance)......anyway, it lookes great Big thumbs up

Ciao

Mike/SE Big grin

whlinder · Thu Aug 26, 2004 11:22 pm

I have also heard rumors of MCO and LAX being the first A319 cities.

kim777fan · Fri Aug 27, 2004 3:16 am

"I'm not a huge fan of this color scheme, but it isn't the worst out there so that counts for somethig."

I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something about it that just screams "Low-Cost Carrier."

AerMickey · Fri Aug 27, 2004 4:13 am

If I were to work for Indy Air, I would hire a lawyer and sue the man or woman that designed the livery.

Mickey

capt078 · Fri Aug 27, 2004 5:49 am

Burnsie28: where did you come up with 47% for a load factor? according to independence air's latest traffic release, they are flying with 63.4% of their seats full. that's not bad for an airline that hasn't been around (at least as its own entity) for three months. perhaps you should read the press release before throwing incorrect numbers around.

http://www.flyi.com/company/pressarchive/2004/aug/081104.htm

Hannigan · Fri Aug 27, 2004 6:39 am

Capt078 - Actually he was right. Near the bottom of that very press release you provided it says the following:

Independence Air — which began service June 16, 2004 — generated 76.0 million RPMs during July, with ASMs of 161.6 million. Load factor for the month was 47.0%, with 196,387 passengers carried.

The 63.7 entails all DL and UA flights as well I think. Don't get me wrong, I work for DH and would love to see a 63.7 but he was right on that. Wait until the August numbers come out!

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