Absolute No Frills Carrier Offering $10 Fares

New budget carrier Skybus Airlines says it is all set for an ambitious launch next month. The carrier will start by offering nonstop service from Ohio's Port Columbus International Airport to the Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay and Seattle/Vancouver areas, and to Ft. Lauderdale, Richmond, Kansas City and Greensboro/Winston-Salem with $10 tickets available on every flight.

Tickets went on sale Tuesday exclusively at the airline's web site for flights through December 15.

"Beginning today (Tuesday), passengers can buy airline tickets for less than the cost of a tank of gas," said Bill Diffenderffer, Skybus CEO. "Travelers who visit our web site will find outrageously low fares on nonstop flights to major markets and to cities that are underserved from Columbus. And these fares - starting with at least 10 seats at $10 on every flight - will always be offered. They are not 'promotional' fares that will go away in a couple of weeks. These are the everyday low fares we promised when we began working to build Skybus."

On May 29, the carrier plans to add service to Seattle, WA and Vancouver, British Columbia, through Bellingham International Airport in Bellingham, WA; Ft. Lauderdale and Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC. On June 12, service to San Francisco, Oakland and the Bay Area, through Oakland International Airport, and a second daily nonstop flight to Los Angeles/Burbank will start, according to the company.

Diffenderffer said Skybus would announce additional destinations as its fleet of A319s expands. It has agreements in place to acquire more than 70 aircraft over the next five years, and will lease additional aircraft as it builds its fleet this year and next.

"As we get more planes, we will add more destinations," Diffenderffer said.

Skybus will generally fly into regional airports in an effort to avoid the congestion of other airlines' hub operations, Diffenderffer said.

"Our planes will spend more time in the air and less time on the ground," he said. 

The carrier has taken some rather unique steps in curbing its costs to keep its fares low. For example, the first two bags checked are five dollars each, then $50 a bag thereafter. The carrier plans to offer no frills at all -- no in-flight entertainment, few gate agents, no preferred seating... even no phone number. You read right -- the company doesn't allow customers to call them. Passengers are referred to the company's website for any needs that may arise.

If you're late for your flight, don't even think about asking them to wait, because they won't. It's an effort to minimizing the time its aircraft are parked at gates or spending time taxiing on runways.

Skybus will offer a full cocktail bar and food menu -- cash only, please. The same goes for pillows and blankets, which passengers would be allowed to keep if they purchase them.

"We know travelers are looking for really low fares and nonstop flights, and we believe our pricing structure will not only attract current flyers, but open up the market to many others who now find air travel simply too expensive," Diffenderffer said. "Our strategy is to 'decomplexify' airline operations in ways that keep costs down while making flying as simple and convenient as possible for passengers."

The budget carrier is also taking steps to generate revenue by offering advertisers space on both the inside and outside of its fleet. Earlier this month, Nationwide Insurance of Columbus unveiled the first of Skybus' "co-branded" aircraft, with Nationwide branding messages on the plane's exterior and throughout the interior of the aircraft.

According to Diffenderffer, more than 15,000 tickets to the markets had sold by 10:00 am  Tuesday.

FMI: www.skybus.com