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.