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I used Southern Airlines to and from Dulles a number of times. Although an "interesting" experience it mostly was reliable and affordable. I was not only disappointed that the service was discontinued but I also lost my reservation money for the connecting flights I paid for that were to take place in a planned trip in October/November.
Then I found out there will be jet service from IPT to Charlotte, NC, starting in October which is a hub for American and where I can make good connections to my Florida destination. I was really excited.
Then I got on the American Airlines web site. Round trip costs from Williamsport to West Palm Beach is over $600 on the "cheap" end and over $1200 for the ungraded package. My heart sunk. A similar trip using Southern and Breeze airlines historically cost me around $400 give or take a few dollars. For the dates I desired to travel (late October to second week in November) the cost posted using the new service was $645 round trip. That is a huge difference and one which will have me using alternative options to either Harrisburg ($230), Elmira($321) or State College($393).
I understand taking these less expensive options inconvenience me and will result in having to arrange for transportation into Williamsport. Even if a family member or friend is unable to pick me up, paying for transportation would only add around $100 to the trip. So, the worst case scenario would still save me around $200 from the Williamsport flights. And, two of those options are nonstop flights (the State College flight has one stop).
Certainly there are some who will feel the convenience of flying in and out of Williamsport is worth the cost. I hope the flights are a success. I don't want to see Williamsport without commercial airline service. Who knows, if the flights are mostly full perhaps the cost of a ticket will come down. Not likely but maybe. In the meantime this new flight service does not work for me unfortunately.
JIM HARPINSKI
Williamsport
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