Reading Service Cancelled Too

[Rob]

DOT yesterday gave Air Midwest permission to cancel all service at Reading as of August 25th. Since it's within 70 miles of PHL, the essential air service rules do not apply.

DOT noted that Reading generated 44K pax in 2002 and 33K in 2003 (after a service reduction) and hoped that some other airline would apply, although no subsidy would be paid.

 

[Singleflyer]

You will be seeing more closings like this from US and other carriers. It makes it harder for those 44,000 people who used the service in 2002. But that is only 120 per day. Kind of hard to justify service when a major airport is 70 mile away.

back in 2001 I had business in Reading, but no flights were available, so I flew to ABE. This was on CO and it was a van/bus ride from EWR to ABE. Needless to say, when I left Reading I drove to PHL. Even with the drive, I could spend more time with my client in Reading, and still make my flight.

Most small airports that are within 2 hours of a major airport are on the short list

 

[usairwaysfan]

This is the sad reality in the fight against LCCs. LCCs pick and choose the most profitable markets and stay away from smaller markets that may have "up and down" revenue patterns.

Network carriers have been able to serve these smaller markets because they could off-set any losses with the last minute high fares that business travelers used to spend.

Now these smaller markets are going to be cut because of the new reality of competing with LCCs.

Is this what competition is all about?

 

[ELP_WN_Psgr]

Now these smaller markets are going to be cut because of the new reality of competing with LCCs.

Is this what competition is all about?

The short answer is yes.

But here's the bigger answer.

I live in El Paso.

It's 600 miles to Dallas/Ft Worth and 400 m iles to Phoenix and 280 miles to Albuquerque.

We have service from a LCC.

The walk up fares to these places run from about $90 (ABQ) to $140 (DAL/DFW).

Waco is 90 mi S of DFW.

Should I pay a higher fare just so somebody else can have the convenience of flying from Waco to DFW to catch a connecting flight?

The real bottom line is everybody needs to pay the cost of the goods or the services they receive.

Out here in the west Texas town of El Paso, it does me absolutely no good...in fact it causes me irreperable harm....if I were to be forced to pay higher airfares to subsidize air travel for someone else's convenience.

Fare is fair. If someone in Waco, or Reading, or some other small burg located within 2 hrs driving time of a major metropolitan airport has to pay more for their flight, then so be it. It would be wrong, however, for those of us in farther flung places to pay more to subsidize travel to/from those cities. Face it.....the air link in their smaller city is not for essentiality, it is for their convenience.

 

[USFlyer]

Wow, for once I agree with ELP_WN_Psgr. I've often said folks in these small communities and folks traveling to these small communities either need to pay more for their convenience or deal with the fact they'll need to drive to a larger airport.

However, this is why I also support the EAS program, as many of these smaller communities would have lost air service many many years ago. I do think the government has a vested interest in promoting air service to smaller markets.

 

[ELP_WN_Psgr]

Wow, for once I agree with ELP_WN_Psgr.

LMAO! How could anyone ever disagree with me? I am one of the few last bastions of truth, justice, the American way, common sense, and a warm-fuzzy-feelgood brand of moderate republicanism.

Have a nice day, USFlyer. You probably need one, as do a lot of US folks.

Take care.~ELPWNPsgr

 

[Singleflyer]

I agree with some of the problem with the LCCs cherry picking their cities, but I don't think that is the only proble.

Because of my job, I always fly one last minute one-way fares. Part of the problem I see with some of these airports is the highway system has improved, and the hub and spoke model has made it easier to go to a closer larger airport.

Some of my other examples is Youngstown, OH; I can (in the past) fly to PIT, rent a car and be in Youngstown sooner,rather than wait for a connecting flight. Maybe that is one reason Youngstown is no longer served.

Other examples are Latrobe PA; from PIT

Hagerstown MD from DCA, BWI, IAD

LAN, from DTW

Rochester, MN from MSP

And my list could go on and on. It is not just a US problem, it is a problem with many carriers, and sometimes to get where you need to go from these smaller cities it is a double connect so all the more reason to take the hour to 90 min drive.

Fares are not always the problem either. In the winter I ofter fly inot LEB rather than my home airport MHT. I do this when the schedule works for me as well as the fare. Many times it is alot cheaper to fly to LEB rather than MHT. And I know they must be loosing money since the plan (B1900) has few passengers. It would not surprise me to see LEB go away. I thinf Dartmouth College must be part of the reason the airport is still open. There is also very good public transportation from Lebanon, NH to MHT.

It will be only a matter of time that you will not see service from many smaller airports.

I travel usually from MHT west to ORD, South to CLT and some FL cities. And my average one-way ticket this year is $560.00. On US the average is $445.00, so I have seen some price drops. NW has the highest average with me and that is at $605.00 for one-way. In agreeing with ARTfrom ISP, the top fares need to come down some, and the bottom fares up some. People like me are tired of subsidizing people flying from small airports that don't make money, and people who fly transcon for $200.00. If these smaller airports (non-subsidized) charged what it actually cost to operate many of these flights, people would have left them long ago. You just cannot support a station on 120 pass. per day, on short flights and make money.

I soory for the people who must drive to PHL from Reading to fly somwwhere, but that is all part of deregulation, and letting the market forces decide what are the profitable cities to fly to/from.

 

[ITRADE]

I think part of the problem here is the fact that DOT revised its standards and requirements for the operation of 15 - 21 seat aircraft and the result of that has made it wholly unprofitable to operate in that market. As such Air Midwest is getting out of the 21 seater market. TSA did so on the west coast and in the midwest. I think the only real carrier left that operates the B-1900 at a substantial level is CommutAir. Colgan operates some, but they have reduced their numbers as well.

 

[jimntx]

El Paso vs Reading or Waco is not a fair example. ELP_WN_Psgr should have been a little more honest and pointed out that not only does he not subsidize Waco (simply because WN does not fly there?), but he failed to mention that WN is not EL Paso's only air service.

I wonder what his fares on WN from ELP would be if AA, CO, DL, and HP pulled out of El Paso and he was left with only WN to provide service? I think he would find that fares would go up as has happened in other cities where WN became the sole carrier or only "mainline" carrier.

 

[ITRADE]

You know, you make a very interesting point.

While I don't think that there are any cities that WN flies to that others do NOT, there are a couple where WN is one of the only carriers. And interesting stuff for those cities.

Consider Harlingen, Texas.

A roundtrip fare from Harlingen to Dallas is $218 round-trip. Thats a fair chunk of change for a route that is a short hop. $298 for the walkup.

Compare that to a similarly length trip - ISP-RDU. The round trip is $168 with the walk-up of $198. So, clearly WN has placed a premium on the markets where it commands a bigger presence.

Even WN's CRP to DAL fare is about $250 round trip.

 

[USFlyer]

Have a nice day, USFlyer. You probably need one, as do a lot of US folks.

Thanks, but I don't work for US. Just a US1 3.5 times over already this year.

 

[ITRADE]

Thanks, but I don't work for US. Just a US1 3.5 times over already this year.

Amazing how folks think that....

 

[gso2pit]

I'm gonna get flamed big time for this, but here goes...

Air Midwest pulled service from RDG?!? Ya know what?!?? Good! It's about time. I hate to be so blunt, but US/express partners do not owe air service to every small and medium size community in this country. I'm sorry for those who did fly to/from RDG. However, it's EAS crap like this which is bringing the company down. With TOL and now RDG being set up for closure, it's starting to look like that alot of PIT service cancellations will consist of small/medium express communities. From the ones that are still there now, expect to see GSO plus a few others that have HIGH o/d.

 

[jimntx]

You know, you make a very interesting point.
Consider Harlingen, Texas.

A roundtrip fare from Harlingen to Dallas is $218 round-trip. Thats a fair chunk of change for a route that is a short hop. $298 for the walkup.

Compare that to a similarly length trip - ISP-RDU. The round trip is $168 with the walk-up of $198. So, clearly WN has placed a premium on the markets where it commands a bigger presence.

Even WN's CRP to DAL fare is about $250 round trip.

And, remember WN has competition on those routes from AE, DL, and/or CoEx.

 

[delldude]

The short answer is yes.

But here's the bigger answer.

I live in El Paso.

It's 600 miles to Dallas/Ft Worth and 400 m iles to Phoenix and 280 miles to Albuquerque.

We have service from a LCC.

The walk up fares to these places run from about $90 (ABQ) to $140 (DAL/DFW).

Waco is 90 mi S of DFW.

Should I pay a higher fare just so somebody else can have the convenience of flying from Waco to DFW to catch a connecting flight?

The real bottom line is everybody needs to pay the cost of the goods or the services they receive.

Out here in the west Texas town of El Paso, it does me absolutely no good...in fact it causes me irreperable harm....if I were to be forced to pay higher airfares to subsidize air travel for someone else's convenience.

Fare is fair. If someone in Waco, or Reading, or some other small burg located within 2 hrs driving time of a major metropolitan airport has to pay more for their flight, then so be it. It would be wrong, however, for those of us in farther flung places to pay more to subsidize travel to/from those cities. Face it.....the air link in their smaller city is not for essentiality, it is for their convenience.

maybe move to rhode island??