In late February I wrote about the interesting case of United operating a once weekly flight between Newark, New Jersey, and Columbia, South Carolina. The route operated for about 18 months, and by insiders was referred to as the "chairman's flight." That's because the chairman of the New York and New Jersey Port Authority, at…
Continue reading: Further Details On United’s Mysterious Newark To Columbia Flight
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Lucky, your ability to find just the right RH graphic whenever you want it is... remarkable.
Why didn't he just ask for service to Augusta, Georgia? It's about 30 minutes closer still to Aiken. (In any event, there's seasonal service from Augusta to LGA on both Delta and US Airways.)
What an idiot.
From the article it sounds like he was the one who pressured United into re-starting the route.
Wow, that is juicy!
On another topic, do you still do trip reports? 😉
#withdrawalpains
Another reason why the US airlines' complaint about Open Skies is a joke: "At the board meeting on Dec. 8, the Port Authority approved United’s new hangar and pledged $10 million toward the $35 million facility."
As I said when this was first posted...who the hell has a weekend home in Aiken, SC? Charleston? Sure. Hilton Head? Ok. But Aiken?
I checked the average load factor for 2013 and this UA flight operated from EWR to CAE 38 times in 2013 with an average load factor of 29.84%. Surprised no one in the media bothered checking the load factor to see if this could have been a viable route, which obviously it wasn't. (Source - DOT T-100 data)
Correction, this was the load factor during 2012. During 2013, it operated 97 times with a load factor of 59.95%, still dismal.
@Andrew - Aiken, SC is not that bad of a place. In fact prior to the Civil War many New York families summered in Aiken because there was not the threat of tropical diseases that could affect the coastal cities. Aiken is really a nice little town.. though maybe I'm biased as a graduate of Aiken High School and the University of South Carolina Aiken. =)