I’m going up to New Jersey next week to visit Amy and go on a canoe trip. To do this I would normally hop on a train from DC Union Station to Metro Park in NJ, from where I could be picked up. The cost of the train ticket, round trip, is about $150. Not cheap.

Lately, however, I’ve been seeing those Independence Air billboards on the Metro, and a thought occurred to me: “Heh, wouldn’t it be funny if plane tickets to Newark turned out even cheaper?” On a whim, I went and checked, and guess what: Independence Air’s round trip to Newark turned out to be less than $100. (Not counting air travel taxes and such.) With an iClub membership, there’s even a discount.

Yes, that’s right. Air turned out cheaper than rail by over $50. Next week, I’m flying to Newark. The only downside I can see is that IndyAir’s hub is in Dulles, which is a considerable distance from DC for the carless. Still, it’s worth the lower cost. (Oh, and we all know what happened last time I flew out of Dulles. The horror.)

Update from the next week: I flew Flyi.