According to http://ask.skybus.com/about/skybus-planes.shtml they will have 156 seats per A319. I've only flown on NW's A319s and for comparison NW has 124 seats :eek:

Back OT - I don't think that one daily flight between Kansas City and Columbus will effect Midwest AT ALL. However, if they grow and offer more flights at better times, who knows what will happen.

However, we have to be realistic. Most airline start ups fail, I don't see any reason why Skybus will survive.

JetBlue sold OAK as San Fran for quite some time, until we announced service to SFO. The thing that is odd to me is selling Bellingham as Vancouver and Seattle. Bellingham is about 1.5hrs to Seattle and 1.0hrs to Vancouver. Granted it is a straight shot either direction on the 5 but last thing I want to do is fly into Bellingham and then drive 1.5hrs to get to Seattle when I can take AirTran, United, JetBlue, American, Continental, ect right into SEA.

I read that and it says:That doesn't say their Airbus A319's seat 156, only that the A319 in general typically seats 156 (which is what EasyJet's do in a similar one-class configuration). I can find several references on the internet to their aircraft having a capacity of 150 (do a Google of "150 seats Skybus"), but I honestly wouldn't vouch for the veracity of any of those sources, but I would still personally believe they will only have 150 because the cost of an additional flight attendant would not offset the revenues from 6 additional seats on every aircraft.

if they come to MKE i'll still be flying on CO.

Skybus has stated that they will have 156 seats on their aircraft. 6 more seats than we have on our 320s.

They actually give the distance to Seattle and Vancouver on the website. I've never driven up around there before, so maybe traffic is only 30mph to make the trip to Vancouver an hour but it only shows it being 30 some miles from the Bellingham airport. You just need to decide if you'd prefer to drive it or sit around an airport waiting for a connecting flight since there is no way to get to Seattle or Vancouver non-stop from Columbus except Skybus.

As to the original subject, I can't see how Skybus will affect Midwest in any way. They are competing for two completely different market segments. It's like being concerned that Kia is going to take sales away from BMW. Skybus is going to be getting the customers that used to fly on People Express.

I think the lack of connections is going to hurt them, trying to find 156 people a day to go to Columbus from these various cities will be challenging. I realize a ton of people go to Columbus every day, but they will be battling the fact they are a brand new airline plus the battle of total no frills.

I notice the MCI-CMH flight leaves here at an absurdly late time... since Columbus is my hometown, it might be nice is someone in the family dies and I want to get there that night, but otherwise getting in after midnight isn't that appealing. I've been wishing for a non-stop to Columbus for years... well my wish has finally been granted but I still think I'll connect on United in normal circumstances.

Some no frills carriers remove the back galley since they don't serve hot food and that is how they pack in the extra seats. For example, that is how AirTran is able to have a full load of coach seats and a business class section.

Regardless, this thing looks like a dog anyway you look at it. Yes they have low low fares, but there are too many other undesirable elements in their plan for me to try them.

These guys are either 100% insane or they are really brilliant and will make a ton of money. Time will tell.

The airports that are missing from Skybus' route map that really stands out to me is Sanford, FL (SFB?) or St. Petersburg, FL (PIE) as alternatives for MCO and TPA. Allegiant has really increased flights to both of these airports and it seems to be working for them, and we know Skybus doesn't have anything against "secondary airports".

Doesn't Skybus have something like 50 A319s on order? I'm sure that cities in FL will be coming.

I read 65 brand new A319's are on order.

Lots of press on SkyBus yesterday, though only a few articles mention seating capacity of the A319's they will operate. USA Today and The Vancouver Sun said they are operating 150-seat aircraft while the International Herald Tribune/NY Times and The Bellingham Herald say their planes will have 144 seats. The Greensboro News Record did say they would have 156 seats.

for $40.00 I would not care about seats or soda.

Your choice. After flying in "business class" on a VirginExpress flight from London to BRU, with seat pitch about 28", I'll spend the extra $40.

Holy cow! Skybus makes AirTran look like Emirates. It's Tim34's dream airline :)

No they fly to crapy airports (i.e. Bellingham WA). Although with Sounder commuter rail it should not be that bad.

I do not like this airline at all. Below is thier buisness model from Wikipedia


Attempting to emulate Ryanair's business model and Southwest's people-friendly attitude, Skybus has committed itself to be the least expensive airline in the industry with a projected CASM 28% lower than Southwest. To achieve this, Skybus plans to utilize multiple measures designed to keep revenue high and costs low.


[edit] Cost Reduction
In an effort to keep maintenance and operating costs to a minimum, most equipment purchased will be uniform. This covers the full range of equipment, from engines, to electrical components, to personnel gear. Because of this, Skybus plans on paying significantly less on employee training and for equipment service.

Another major method of cost reduction will be to utilize secondary airports, which are generally less congested and charge less to lease space. To save even more money at the airport, passengers will board directly from the apron instead of using the jetway, saving both loading/unloading time as well as operating costs. Finally, ticket sales will be 98% online. This not only saves on employee costs, but will completely eliminate the need for a reservations call center.


[edit] Employee Wages
In order to keep wages in line with their projected low fares, flight attendants will only be paid $9 per flight hour, and will not be paid per day. While this is considerably lower than competing airlines' wages, flight attendants will also receive 10% of all sales made during the flight, splitting all commissions evenly among all flight attendants on-board. Starting pilot wages will also be well below average, starting at $65,000 annually. The average commercial airline pilot wage is approximately $135,000.[9]


[edit] Increasing Revenue
While cutting costs is a high priority for Skybus, revenue is their primary focus. Skybus aircraft will be outfitted as flying gift shops, selling everything from soda and food to perfumes, watches, clothing, and toiletries. According to comments on the website, passengers are seemingly prohibited from bringing food onboard the aircraft - everything consumed onboard must be bought from the airline, although the official Contract of Carriage does not actually prohibit anything except alcohol and hot beverages.

Advertisements will also be seen throughout the cabin and exterior. This will include overhead bins, carpet, tray tables, and full-body exterior advertisements (see below). The price for interior advertisements has not been released, though a company who purchases a full-body advertisement can also buy all interior advertisements for a small increase in price. A complete list of where advertisements will be placed has not been released, however, and what the interior will look like is also unknown.[10]