Others Replace Independence at Dulles

By Kendra Marr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 29, 2007

In the 21 months since the demise of Independence Air at Washington Dulles International Airport, Southwest, JetBlue and the newly arrived Virgin America have been trying to fill the void left by the defunct low-fare carrier.

At its peak, Independence Air flew 300 roundtrip flights a day. Today, Dulles has replaced that lost service with a mixture of low-fare, domestic and international flights, said Tara Hamilton, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

That growth, particularly from the low-fare airlines, suggests the airport could have the potential to become a hub for no-frills flights, industry analysts said.

This year is turning into a good one for the airport. Virgin America is its sixth low-fare carrier to date and the fifth new carrier this year. By the time Virgin America launches its second route to Los Angeles in October, Dulles will have almost 60 low-fare flights a day to 15 destinations.

Other niche carriers, including Maxjet, which offers cheaper business-class seats than traditional airlines do, have also debuted at Dulles.

"There seems to be a strong appetite for low fares at Dulles," said Mark Treadaway, the airport authority's vice president of planning and development.

Dulles has had a history of competitively priced carriers since the 1980s, but Independence Air left a gaping hole when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It offered seats as low as $29 one way, but after just 18 months of flying, the airline closed, citing fuel prices and intense competition.

Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport still controls most of the region's cheap flights thanks to Southwest, which has a major hub there. Its presence is much smaller at Dulles, a more convenient location for travelers who live and work in Northern Virginia.

Plans for new runways, parking garages, gates and a Metro line could prompt airlines -- legacy, low-fare and international -- to move into Dulles, said Stephen Fuller, director of the George Mason University's Center for Regional Analysis.

The airlines that come in now get the gates.

"Everyone wants to be there," Fuller said. "They're all fighting over available space."

Dulles has other advantages: restrictions on Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport make it difficult to host new carriers there. And heavyweight Southwest would crush any competition trying to fly the same routes out of the Baltimore market, said analysts.

In addition to Virgin America, the other airlines coming to Dulles this year included Aer Lingus, Iberia, Qatar Airways and Copa Airlines, international carriers with a handful of routes.

James E. Bennett, the airports authority's chief executive, attributes the increase in carriers to the high-profile coverage Dulles received when United announced daily service to Beijing and to the authority's program to attract service to Washington.

Dulles has the added benefit of being in a wealthy region that has been relatively unaffected by the economic downturn.

"We know that Fairfax is affluent and growing. Loudoun is affluent and growing," said Darryl Jenkins, an aviation consultant. "It's better to have customers with money than customers without money."

Southwest moved to Dulles last year specifically to target travelers from Northern Virginia, said Whitney Eichinger, spokeswoman for the Dallas-based airline.

"We had customers driving from Northern Virginia to Baltimore," she said. "We wanted to make a more convenient airport choice, closer to their homes and offices."

While Dulles may draw from the greater Washington region, the local economy benefits more from the airport's overall success, Jenkins said. New carriers could bring jobs and economic growth to Northern Virginia, said industry analysts.

"It's gravity," Jenkins said. "The closer you are, the stronger the attraction. Airports draw from the outlying areas, but the bulk of the people traveling are the ones that are reasonably close."

An increase in travelers into Dulles translates into more visitors spending the night in local hotels, eating in neighborhood restaurants and shopping at nearby malls, Fuller said.

In today's tight economy, more carriers offering more competitive pricing are important for bringing more non-business travelers, who are easily swayed by ticket prices, into Washington.

"Personal travel is price sensitive these days," Fuller said. "As fares are inching up, it's even more meaningful.

"Business travelers are coming anyway, but this may encourage them to bring their spouses or children," he added.