Skybus Airlines

[kitchenerlrt]

Starting on May 22, Skybus airlines will start flying out of Columbus, Ohio, to destinations such as Los Angeles (Burbank), San Francisco (Oakland), Fort Lauderdale (Ft. Lauderdale), Kansas City (Kansas City), Greensboro (Piedmont), Richmond Va. (Richmond), Seattle/Vancouver (Bellingham). Ticket prices cost only $10 per person. Luggage: The first two bags under fifty pounds will cost $5 each, with each additional bag after two costing $50. Overweight baggage, those weighing over fifty but under seventy-five pounds, will be charged an extra $25, and all bags over seventy-five pounds will not be accepted.Though seating will be first-come, first-served, passengers can also pay an extra $10 each way for priority seating which will allow them to board right after passengers with disabilities. On-board, everything from food and drinks to pillows will cost extra, though once purchased, all items do not need to be returned. In order to maximize revenue from these fees, Skybus plans to strictly enforce their no food and drink policy.

They have ordered 65 Airbus A319's! Skybus intends of fly out of smaller, less congested airports instead of the big and busy ones.

They also have 10 rules:

1. Don’t pay for everyone else’s baggage.

On Skybus, you pay only for what you check. The first two bags are 5 bucks apiece. After that, it’s $50 a bag (yeah, so pack smartly). Less baggage means faster turnaround and cheaper tickets. Fair deal?

2. Hungry? Thirsty? Bring cash.

Most people love our full cocktail bar and food menu, but if you’re not into that, it won’t cost you a penny. Why should your ticket cost include your neighbor’s dinner? That also goes for blankets and pillows–which, by the way, you get to keep if you buy. Oh, and don’t sneak food onboard unless you brought enough for the whole plane.

3. Bring a book.

We’re not big fans of fancy in-flight entertainment systems. So grab that best seller at the airport, or buy a Sudoku puzzle onboard if you’re feeling brainy. You’ll touch down before you know it.

4. Don’t call us.

We don’t have a phone number. Seriously. We’d love to chat, but those phone banks are expensive. And a good website like skybus.com is even more convenient.

5. Don’t be late. We won’t be.

Please arrive no later than 30 minutes before takeoff, or we’ll leave without you. Really. By that time, there won’t even be anyone to check your bag. It’s nothing against you–we just have to keep our flights on time, or things get expensive in a hurry.

6. Don’t expect an army of gate agents.

You probably won’t see any agents at the gate until boarding time. Remain calm! Just print your boarding pass at skybus.com and relish in the savings.

7. Yeah, we’ve got preferred seats. Sort of.

There are no fancy reclining beds onboard, but you can pay 10 bucks extra to board our brand-new A319 airplanes before anyone else.

8. Tickets are nonrefundable.

Refunding a ticket costs everyone, so we don’t allow it. Of course, our tickets are so cheap it wouldn’t have been much of a refund anyway. If you need to change a ticket, your punishment for breaking a date with us is $40.

9. Bigger is not better.

Big airports can be a big pain. We choose less crowded and more convenient secondary airports for better punctuality and, of course, lower prices.

10. No spontaneous dancing in the aisle.

We realize you might be excited about paying a ridiculously low fare, but please refrain from any unbridled dancing onboard. This includes jumping for joy, disruptive cheering, and celebratory break dancing.

Their second rule is one that many people are against. Lets just say there's a woman travelling with her newborn child. And on this flight, she has to nurse her child. What are the FA's going to say, "excuse me ma'am, but outside food is not allowed on this flight"?

For more info: http://www.skybus.com/

[hl7534]

Only the first few seats are $10. Some tickets go up to more than $150! Not that there are too many clueless people who are willing to spend $150 flying on an airline that doesn't even have a phone line, doesn't allow any outside food, have the worst seat pitch in the industry and pay their flight attendants only $9/hour (which is REALLY bad pay). Of course, if it's $10, it may be worth it, but good luck to the people finding that fare, especially after everyone bought them away!

[TheAverageJoe]

I can see this growing like wild fire

[Shaun]

I can see this growing like wild fire

I dont see this bieng feasible. Considering that the big guys are going bankrupt i doubt that these small time guys can come in and make a fortune. Even Jet Blue isnt doing that great. The only low cost carrier still making a buck is southwest.

[TheAverageJoe]

I dont see this bieng feasible. Considering that the big guys are going bankrupt i doubt that these small time guys can come in and make a fortune. Even Jet Blue isnt doing that great. The only low cost carrier still making a buck is southwest.

Yes but with the rising cost of airline tickets, if they market this correct and have enough capital to live for about 5 years without a profit, than it can work.

[hl7534]

The low-cost market in general is very risky, and there are many examples of failures not only in the U.S., but throughout the whole world. A good yield management strategy that could adjust fares as the number of seats filled is crucial, in addition to a reasonable product that has a reasonable amount of frills could be a good way to start. However, looking at how turbulent and saturated the airline market in the USA is right now, I wouldn't count on the airline lasting for so long.

The reason why Southwest managed to succeed is their seamless airport/flight operations, fuel hedging and other negotiations, and an excellent dispatching team that allows them to maintain a fast airport turn-around time (30 mins) and keep track of planes more easily, in addition to capturing and dominating secondary markets such as Amarillo, New Orleans, Baltimore, Las Vegas etc. which are not dominated by any of the 'Big 6' airlines in the US.

[Tom1122]

Pardon the pun, but I think Skybus will crash and burn for some reason...

[kitchenerlrt]

Skybus has already started service on Tuesday. Looks like with all of those planes on order, we'll see some major expansion soon.