Independence Air Is Off the Ground at Last

"They're transforming their entire business within a space of a few months, and that is a tremendous challenge. And there are lots of questions," Robert N. Ashcroft, an analyst with UBS Investment Research, said yesterday. "Can they manage a hub with 87 airplanes? They have never done that before. Can they manage customer service for that many people all at once? Forget about doing it profitably. Can they just do it?"

Analysts are also concerned that reservations for Independence can be made only through the airline's Web site or toll-free phone number. Independence, concerned about costs, decided not to pay to be listed on the widely used Orbitz, Travelocity or Expedia Web sites.

"The one thing we have going for us in the D.C. marketplace is there are more Internet users in the D.C. area than in any city in the U.S.," chief executive Kerry Skeen said.

Skeen said he'd rather spend the company's money on advertising and community sponsorships. Last weekend, for example, Independence was a sponsor of the District's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender festival. And he hired political consultants Carville and his wife, Mary Matalin, as well as comedian Dennis Miller, soccer star Mia Hamm and musician Chuck Berry for its pitches.

Sadie Johnstone, 24, a medical student from Arlington, booked an Independence flight from Boston to Dulles online after seeing one of the TV ads at her health club. She paid $59 one way, plus tax.

"I hope this starts an airfare war," she said with a laugh.

Some customers got a jolt -- then a laugh -- when the preflight safety announcements were delivered by the celebrity endorsers.

Rock-and-roller Berry said in his announcement, which was approved by regulators, "In the extremely unlikely event that the aircraft lands in water, the seat cushion will keep you afloat. Just pull up on the front, put your arms in the strap and hug it as tight as you hug your baby on a Saturday night . . ."

There were a few opening-day glitches. A brochure showing cities the airline will eventually serve listed Greensboro, N.C., as Greensboro, N.Y., for example. And the airline briefly ran out of forks for cake at the party.

Flight 1134 from Boston to Dulles was delayed for about three hours; passengers were told it was because of bad weather at Dulles. For an hour and a half, as the plane sat on the tarmac in Boston, flight attendants passed out drinks and snacks and tried to entertain passengers with guessing games, until Capt. David Wojtanowski decided to take the plane back to the gate. Once inside the airport, airline workers ordered pizza for the passengers.

Everywhere there seemed to be the specter of competition. "Boooooo," some Independence employees yelled when they spotted a Ted jet, operated by United, taxiing onto the runway at Dulles.

Or, as Flight 1134 passenger Jeff Leiter, of Great Falls, Va., described his predicament: "If you believe in conspiracy theories, then maybe United and US Airways conspired to arrange this."

Staff writer Keith L. Alexander contributed to this report.