Independence Air
The history of the airline industry is full of discount carriers that experienced growing pains during periods of aggressive expansion.
People Express
Launched: 1981
Grounded: 1987
The vanguard of low-fare air travel, People Express allowed customers of any income to fly. But it overextended itself by purchasing Frontier Airlines, Britt Airlines, and Provincetown-Boston Airline, losing $254.4 million in the first nine months of 1986, before merging with Texas Air.
ValuJet
Launched: 1993
Grounded: 1997
ValuJet was one of the fastest-growing airlines in history, but in May 1996, Flight 592 crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 people aboard. The F.A.A. grounded the airline temporarily, and it later merged with the carrier now known as AirTran.
JetBlue
Launched: 1998
One of the few airlines to turn a profit after 9/11, JetBlue deviated from the low-cost model in 2005 by adding routes and buying new planes. A well-publicized debacle in February, which marooned some passengers for nine hours, cost the company at least $22 million and dented its seemingly invincible image.
Song
Launched: 2003
Grounded: 2006
Aiming to launch a low-cost, high-style carrier, Delta Air Lines called on such tastemakers as Kate and Andy Spade to help develop Song. But it became a casualty of Delta’s post-9/11 woes. Six weeks after Delta filed for bankruptcy protection, it announced the division’s shutdown.
Independence Air
Launched: 2004
Grounded: 2006
Independence Air offered low fares out of Dulles International Airport, adding hundreds of new flights while slashing fares to barely profitable lows—some as cheap as $29 one-way. Flyi Inc., Independence Air’s parent, closed it in 2006. —Megan Angelo
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