Paying to guess new routes

Does it pay to guess? Should you pay to guess? Well, the owner of a new website thinks as much. Taxiway Echo, which just went live, offers predictions of what the next route or routes from a US airport will be. Some predictions are free, while premium members ($45 a year) get even more predictions. Owner Bob Engelhardt says he is about 75% on target, but had a less than bulls-eye accuracy his first day out. Engelhardt, who calls himself “a lifelong aviation enthusiast,” listed five cities as possible new destination from Dallas/Fort worth, but evidently didn’t tell American Eagle about his choices (Akron/Canton, Ohio; Buffalo or White Plains, New York; or Tallahassee or Sarasota/Bradenton, Fla.). Instead Eagle named Grand Junction, Colo., in an announcement made at about the same time that Taxiway Echo went live. Engelhardt says he is right about three-fourths of the times on mainline routes, but less on regional service. A forum lets members discuss the predictions, and Engelhardt will also offer a weekly pod-cast.