Independence Air achieves best-ever operational results in September

Airline Industry Information, Oct 5, 2005

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

FLYi Inc (Nasdaq: FLYI) has reported preliminary September 2005 passenger traffic and operational results for low-fare airline Independence Air.

According to the company, the airline generated 243.9m revenue passenger miles (RPMs), while available seat miles (ASMs) were 373.9m. For the month 409,237 passengers were flown and Independence Air's load factor for September was 65.2% compared to 44.4% in September 2004.

FLYi said that for Q3, ended 30 September 2005, RPMs were at 921.6m while ASMs were 1.3bn. The airline carried 1,457,732 passengers during this year's third quarter.

The company also said that Independence Air will report the best operational results in its 15-month history for the month of September. On-time arrivals (as per US Department of Transportation standards) were at 87.7%, which is 3.1 percentage points higher than the previous best. Baggage handling was also at a record, with mishandled bags reported at a rate of only 2.7 per 1,000 passengers, compared with the previous low of 2.9 per 1,000. The airline cancelled only 0.3% of its scheduled flights, equal to its lowest-ever total.

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