Carrier Began Operations In May 2007
"America's Ryanair" is
going the way of the dodo. Skybus Airlines, which prided itself on
bare-bones operations and super-low fares, announced Friday the
airline will shut down after April 5.
The airline made the announcement in a posting on its
website.
"Skybus struggled to overcome the combination of rising jet fuel
costs and a slowing economic environment," the carrier wrote.
"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."
As ANN reported, Skybus
launched service in May 2007, offering minimalist accomodations and
threadbare customer service in exchange for low ticket prices. The
carrier briefly made waves for its offering a handful of seats
on each flight for just $10, though most Skybus fares came closer
to ticket prices offered by other low-cost carriers.
The price of a Skybus ticket covered the seat to sit in... and
not much else. Passengers paid extra for such niceties as checked
luggage, or in-cabin food and beverages (no outside food allowed.)
The airline also held costs down by selling tickets
exclusively online -- no agents at the airport -- and by flying to
relatively out-of-the-way airports, in some cases located hours
from the major cities they ostensibly served.
While the idea of a no-frills US airline had its merits, many
analysts and pundits felt the writing was on the wall for Skybus
from the start... and was made even clearer by surging fuel prices.
Airline founder and CEO Bill Diffenderffer resigned March 24,
reports The Winston-Salem Journal, and the carrier's operations VP
left the airline Tuesday.
Skybus recommended passengers with tickets for travel after
April 5 to contact their credit card companies for refunds.
This week will go down as one of the worst ever for US airlines,
as no fewer than four carriers -- Aloha Airlines, Champion Air, ATA
Airlines, and now Skybus -- folded up shop this week, or announced
imminent plans to do so. A fifth airline, Sun Country Airlines,
announced it will place nearly 30 percent of its pilots on furlough
over the summer, though company officials says it plans to rehire
them in late October.
(Skybus photo courtesy of Derek Rust)