page_title: Independence Air
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Independence Air / History
caption_attribution_description: English: A Canadair CRJ regional jet in the now-defunct Independence Air livery, seen through terminal windows at Dulles Airport (IAD).
context_page_description: Independence Air was a low-cost airline, owned by FLYi, Inc., headquartered in the Loudoun Gateway Corporate Center in Dulles, Virginia, United States that operated from 1989 until 2006. Its route network focused on the East Coast of the United States, but it also extended to the West Coast. The route network was based at Washington Dulles International Airport.
  It ceased all operations at 8:24 p.m. UTC-5 on January 5, 2006. The airline had been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since November 7, 2005. There had been discussion of a last-minute deal that could save the airline, but that did not happen.
context_section_description: Independence Air started life as Atlantic Coast Airlines on December 15, 1989, operating feeder services as United Express for United Airlines and Delta Connection for Delta Air Lines. After United withdrew the contract when the ACA labor and management would not agree to the concessions it requested, Atlantic Coast reinvented itself as low-cost carrier Independence Air. It was announced on November 19, 2003, and operations as Independence Air began on June 16, 2004. At its inception, it was unique among low-cost carriers in that its fleet mainly consisted of 50-seat regional jets, although the airline later introduced larger Airbus A319 equipment. It was based at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and contributed to Dulles's substantial increase in passenger use, bringing one million new customers to the airport in its first three months of operation. The airline was also credited with helping to reduce fares to and from the airport.
caption: A regional jet operated by Independence Air, seen through terminal windows
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