Posted on 04/04/2008 8:09:08 PM PDT by buccaneer81
Skybus shuts down, cancels all flights Friday, April 4, 2008 9:37 PM By Marla Matzer Rose THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH The first Skybus flight leaves Port Columbus on the morning of May 22, 2007. Dispatch photo The first Skybus flight leaves Port Columbus on the morning of May 22, 2007. Hot Issue What's your reaction to the closing of Skybus? Click here to comment. Disrupted travel plans?
Did the end of Skybus affect your travel plans? Are you a Skybus employee who lost your job? E-mail us at readernet@dispatch.com. Some comments will be used in upcoming stories. Archive See a Skybus timeline and previous stories
Skybus Airlines, a Columbus carrier that excited central Ohio travelers with its $10 fares, is calling it quits.
The news came quickly today, with the airline announcing on its Web site at about 9 p.m. that it will no longer be in business Saturday.
After today, all flights are canceled.
Those holding tickets for future flights are advised to contact their credit card companies about obtaining refunds.
Gary L. Patterson, who flew Skybus from Richmond yesterday to visit his girlfriend, said he felt “empty” when he learned he wouldn't be going back the same way. He'd gotten word when a friend called his girlfriend.
Patterson, 42, an Air Force tech sergeant temporarily stationed at Langley Air Force Base, said he's frustrated. He thought “common courtesy” called for at least a week's notice.
But “getting mad is not going to change anything,” he said. “It's not going to get me back on Monday morning.”
Skybus is not providing alternate transportation.
Patterson planned on getting something to eat and trying to find a way back tomorrow.
Those who purchased trip insurance within the last month should make any claims through the Skybus insurance provider, AIG TravelGuard. The policy that went into effect in early March covers airline-caused cancellations; the previous policy did not.
As of today, Skybus was making 80 daily flights to 15 cities around the U.S. It made its first flight from its home base at Port Columbus on May 22 of last year and opened a second base in Greensboro, N.C. in January.
Skybus has approximately 450 employees. Of those, 350 are based in Columbus, with the remainder in Greensboro.
mrose@dispatch.com Text of Skybus announcement
Skybus Airlines will cease all operations effective Saturday, April 5.
Skybus struggled to overcome the combination of rising jet fuel costs and a slowing economic environment. These two issues proved to be insurmountable for a new carrier.
We deeply regret the impact this decision will have on our employees and their families, customers, vendors, suppliers, airport officials and others in the cities in which we have operated. Our financial condition is such that our Board of Directors felt it had no choice but to cease operations.
Passengers holding reservations for Skybus flights scheduled to depart on or after Saturday, April 5, 2008 should contact their credit card companies to arrange to apply for a refund. More information for customers and others will be made available on the Skybus web site (www.skybus.com) as it becomes available.
All flights for Friday, April 4 will be completed. Passengers holding reservations on flights for Friday, April 4 should check in for their flight at a Skybus kiosk at the airport instead of the Skybus website.
Good riddence!
I bet Airbus is pissed. Skybus had placed orders for 65 aircraft. Of course, if Airbus really expected them to be in business long enough to take delivery, they must have been a bit loco.
Why good riddance?
welcome news
Skybus has approximately 450 employees. Of those, 350 are based in Columbus, with the remainder in Greensboro.
Didn't they have employees in those other 14 cities they flew to?
They may have contracted out their ground handling at the other cities. Just a guess; it's occasionally done that way.
It was an interesting model but they must have had trouble making money and that is the ruler that all business should and must be measured. I do think there is a place and demand for discount carriers but this is not yet the time for them.
I fly United and for me the service has only gotten better the more I have flown with them. The clerks at the counter and at flight check-in have been especially good at going the extra mile even holding a plane for me while I was going through security and checking me in when I was running behind and they knew I was due to arrive. I fly so much that the extra service makes life much easier.
Hmmm, this sucks. We were schedule to fly from NC to NH in June for a family affair.
They dumped a buddy and I off a canceled flight in Feb from NC to Springfield, MAss.
Fuel prices killed them. They were actually the number one carrier here in Columbus for the month of February. Southwest is the usual leader.
I used to live in Springfield. Isn't Chicopee a beautiful place? LOL!
My entire family (5) flew round-trip to Columbus from Bellingham (N.Seattle) last year. For less than $400.
We’re sad to see them fold.
Try Southwest if it's available to you and fly to TF Green Airport in Providence,RI. A lot better than Logan.
and now Skybus...
Who's next?
What a pitiful situation.
Everything in Chicopee looked pretty nice covered in snow. We ended up driving 13 hours.
We were shooting in the S&W Winter Nationals. So we saw the hotel and the indoor ranges at S&W.
It ticked us off that all the new england flights on other airlines had cancelled, but Skybus showed ‘on-time’.
So we drove all the way from Raleigh to Greensboro to learn 20 minutes before departure that we weren’t flying. That also put us 2 hours out of our way on our eventual road trip.
Skybus gave up on Bellingham a few months ago, mostly due to fuel costs. And your family's experience was unfortunately the exception rather than the rule.
This is going to be another one of those periods where most of the startup airlines go under, allowing some of the majors get to raise fares and keep providing bad service for a while longer. Even an airline as relatively healthy as Southwest is cutting back some flights. Fuel prices are the major problem - expect fares to go way up across the board as the competition drops out.
I checked into their flights, and the problem I found was connections were spotty.
Yikes! But your experience is probably 35% of what killed Skybus. Fuel prices were the other 65%. Of course, the pilots were going to vote next week to unionize, so it would have been over either way.
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