skybus NOT CHEAP AT ALL.
 

I just went to their website and most of their ONE-WAY FARES from Cbus to LA(burbank) are 250 bucks.

There are a few cheap fares in March of 2008(50 bucks one way).

So lets see I can take COntinental out of CLE for 275roundtrip AND GET A MEAl, or I could take Skybus out of Columbus and pay 500 bucks(roundtrip) and get jack squat. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

yea but who is actually going to fly this airline?
 

Who is going to actually fly this airline if an economy ticket costs more than a major carrier?

I think you'll find very few situations where Skybus is more expensive than a major carrier.

Actually, from my playing around with their booking engine, I think there are often times where Skybus is more expensive than a major carrier. (Similar to WN.)

I think, though, that there are very few situations in which the lowest fare ever offered for a particular flight is more on Skybus than on a major carrier.

For what it's worth:

7/18, Return 7/19 JAX/DAB-CMH:
Skybus - $376.30 (St. Augustine)
USAir - $388 (JAX)

8/1, Return 8/2 CMH-Seattle/Vancouver:
Skybus - $575.80 (BLI)
Continental - $514 (YVR) or $534 (SEA)

These are just a couple of examples, but there are plenty more out there, particularly with last-minute purchases. I will give Skybus that on advance, low-fare dates they are hard to beat, but otherwise the majors will give them a run for their money (even if it might be within $20-30 to fly into the "real" airport).

Any updates on new routes besides what has been posted in this thread? or is Skybus still being pretty tight-lipped? What about a possible second focus city?

Anybody flown SkyBus lately?

I've got my first trip on them coming up this weekend.... PSM-CMH. For $36 RT I'm not expecting much, but getting to Ohio and then back would be nice!

I flew them twice in the last month. Bur-Cmh. I gotta say I like everything they are doing. Seats are leather and soft, price is right, and flights are direct. You get more legroom then on most it seems regardless of what is published and usually the flights allow you to choose a window or isle seat as long as you checkin online to get section 2. The plane boards from both front and back, so the time getting on the bird to takeoff is about 15 minutes. Thats quick because they are trying to get in 4 flights a day with one bird on time on this route.

The only downside is that the food is 10-12 dollars and pepsi type drinks are 2 dollars each. So a mixed drink is 7. But when you save 100 bucks on a flight it is still worth it. And you save TIME by going direct insead of transferring in some other city.

Again..its no F (which is what I usually fly) BUT cutting my time in half by having a direct flight cross country is worth it to me. Especially coming to CMH for a quick weekend.

Just go in with an open mind and you should be alright. Oh and the planes are new on the inside, so they are estecitcally pleasing.

There was a recent article in Money magazine about Skybus and their business model should work out fine. They have a unique way of looking at the industry. In a way I think I'd prefer to maybe pay equal or more for a Skybus ticket if it keeps me happy and saves me time.

There model is keep cost low ie no call center. No connecting flights, you can't loose luggage if there are not connections. Pay as you go. Why should I get charged for your checked baggage? Fast service smaller airports mean less people and less security to worry about.

Only time will tell if they can succeed but I hope they do.

Oh really........ Those are famous last words. Airlines seem to have a magic ability to lose luggage even on a nonstop flight when the bag was checked in plenty early. :mad:

Nope, me either. Not yet that I haven't flown on SX before. Maybe SX will bring more new routes from CMH-IWA or PHX. I'm surely if SkyBus will have big announcement tomorrow morning. I will have response you back in the morning. I have heard about SGJ is doing very extremely well lately. Because it was always full flight for everyday. I think SX need increased to became second daily from CMH-SGJ will be successful.

Esl ?

It's official from Skybus will inaugurate new routes CMH-CHA/MKE/GPT/PGD
 

Well guys,

It's official news releases from Skybus will introduces from CMH-CHA/GPT/MKE/PGD goes on December 2007 and here it is:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=664890

Thanks all!

Thanks 830.... I've only flown one flight so far, but it went as expected....
Here is the Columbus Dispatch article about the new flights -> http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...U.html?sid=101

And, an interesting article on how they keep their five (soon to be seven) planes utilized, and average of 13.2 hours/day.....
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...D.html?sid=101

I would imagine that the two new planes will be fully utilized when the routes to the Bahamas and Mexico start up...

[QUOTE=wb8iny;8436992]And, an interesting article on how they keep their five (soon to be seven) planes utilized, and average of 13.2 hours/day.....
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...D.html?sid=101
QUOTE]

And what happens when there is a WX or MX?

Great article. Sums up the service. No frills, direct flight service. They turned my plane around within 15 minutes once at Burbank. Its amazing.

That's an easy one, the whole sequence for that plane gets really messed up for that day...
---------------------------------------------------------------------
From Dispatch article:
In early August, for example, a Skybus plane that was to make the trip to Oakland, Calif., was grounded for hours for a maintenance check. To get the Oakland-bound passengers to their destination, after cooling their heels for about five hours in the airport, Skybus had to pull another of its five planes and cancel four later flights in and out of other cities.

"If we have to cancel a flight, we can't just cancel one. We have to cancel two, one out and one back," Quillen said. "When we do have to take a cancellation, we face that and keep on going."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
If it's weather, you are going to get delayed. If mechanical, hope for the best. You probably stand a better chance of getting out if you are at CMH, else you wait it out...

The real test will come this winter, although CMH does a pretty good job of keeping the field open. Of course, you will still have to walk to the plane in the blowing snow!

Any chance of getting actual city names for obscure 3-Letter IATA Airport Codes? Sure, everyone knows MKE (and I even know that GPT is Gulfport/Biloxi Miss.)...But CHA & PGD? Respectively, those sound like the name of a lady of disrepute one might pick up in a Cougar Bar and the title of some horrid disease and/or syndrome affecting the male reproductive system.

Also, I do know about the airport code lookup feature. It's simply an inefficient method of getting the info (when compared with containing the info in a thread, where it would be searchable).

Any "real" FTer knows every code out there! Good point though, those should have been expanded. PGD is Charlotte County Airport, Punta Gorda, FL (Ft. Meyers to Skybus). CHAttanooga, TN isn't too hard to figure out, but of course to Skybus it is the same as ATL!

Classic !!!:)

D'oh! I should have been able to figure out CHA (oh well). PGD I would have never guessed. Alternatively, I could have actually looked up the codes and posted the translation, but by the time I had finished typing my long-winded pontification, my flight was ready for boarding :D

I've found that BWI is actually more convenient (with its own Amtrak station in the airport) and quicker to get to DC than the other two airports, especially Dulles which is only reachable to DC by bus or taxi. 30 minutes on the train and you're at Union Station from BWI.

Also, many people actually drive two hours to get to their closest major airport, so it's really not as far-fetched that they'd accept this at their destination as you think.

As one example, those in Champaign, Illinois can depart from CMI (few choices, very expensive), BMI (45 minutes away, also very expensive), Peoria (same), Indianapolis (3 hours away, cheap flights to some places), St. Louis (three hours away, flights more expensive than IND) or Chicago (cheapest flights). Most people in that area drive or take the train three hours to one of Chicago's airports when they want to fly somewhere, because a flight from Chicago will cost $150 as opposed to $400 or $500 from CMI. I'm sure it's the same for people in many places across the US. They may not blink an eye at two hours, especially for such cheap transportation as Skybus.

You can even look it up the entirely website The Great Circle Mapper. Here it is:

http://gc.kls2.com/

It is much easier that you can look it up those cities code. It should be very helpful from you. Thanks! :)

SkyBus to fly direct from PSM to Florida...
 

As I was getting off the plane in Portsmouth this morning, I saw this as the top story in the newspaper box. Very interesting.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/p...NEWS/709240318

And mods -- is it time for a SkyBus forum? Or at least a subforum or LCC forum that can aggregate the SkyBus threads? I understand that without a FF program, SkyBus can't hang with the big boys in Miles & Points, but it does seem to generate a fair amount of interest on FlyerTalk these days. It's really hard to know where to discuss topics like this -- either you start a new thread in TravelBuzz and make it even more cluttered, or tag it onto one of the several SkyBus threads and hope people stumble across it.

I completely agree...would love to see a Skybus thread...even as a subthread in LCCs.

Given the difficulty that Virgin America is having getting its own forum, and they actually have a frequent flyer program, I don't see Skybus getting one. However you could always put a question up on the talkboards forum. Otherwise why not move discussion to the Other North & South America Frequent Flyer Programs forum?

Yup... got a e-mail from them this morning..

Daily flights to the beach from Boston/Portsmouth:

* Jacksonville/Daytona Beach (St. Augustine)
* Punta Gorda/Ft. Myers

Plus two flights a day to:

* Columbus, Ohio

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=664890


Cheap-seat airline comes to Milwaukee
Skybus will begin offering $10 fares to Columbus, Ohio
By TOM DAYKIN
[email protected]
Posted: Sept. 19, 2007
A company that bills itself as "the $10 airline" will begin offering low-fare service between Milwaukee and Columbus, Ohio, starting in December.

Skybus Airlines, which is based in Columbus, begins selling tickets today for the non-stop flights, which begin Dec. 5. Skybus will have one flight daily from Milwaukee to Columbus, with departures at around 4:45 p.m. The only other airline offering non-stop flights from Milwaukee to Columbus is Midwest Connect, the regional carrier affiliated with Midwest Airlines.

...

It's official releases from Skybus from PSM-SGJ/PGD
 

Here I have the press releases from SX will inaugurate new routes from PSM-SGJ/PGD and here it is:

http://ask.skybus.com/about/skybus/s...ssReleaseID=29

Hopefully if SX will continuation more demand growth in Florida cities. I'm would assume if Skybus will gets more new routes sometimes either 2008 or beyond. Thanks all! :)

Looks like the GSO focus city rumors are really starting to take shape!

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...V.html?sid=101

Interesting to read that GSO is their most profitable route at the moment

Sorry, the website does not working at all. Can you please clarify which right the entire website for me. Thanks! :)

It will never be able to compete with the proposed PSM fortress hub. It's a wonder that no other airline has seen fit to provide service to PSM, after all, Portsmouth is a booming metro of 20,000+... Maybe everyone in CMH wants lobster???

Updated link:

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live...V.html?sid=101

Looks like skybus upped the regular priced rates from 50 and 75 to 120 for most dates one way. This is for Bur-CMH

PMH-CMH-SAN isn't possible. 20 minute connection outbound, and a 24 hour layover on the inbound. Plus they're not priced competitively on the CMH-SAN legs really.

I found an interesting link of how Skybus allocates their planes:

http://www.upgradetravelbetter.com/w.../09/skybus.gif

Yeah, looks like these a/c are being run nearly non stop 14+ hours per day. What happens to this scheduling when routine maintenance issues begin to arise, particularly as these A319s begin to age.

Rolling delays... lots of them. It's a dangerous gamble to run without a spare or backup plan.

Skybus Reservations for April 2008
 

Can anyone help me. I am going crazy checking their web site 10 times a day to catch the $10 fare. When will they make reservations from SFO available online ? Any other insider tips to getting the $10 fare ?

bfrager, welcome to FlyerTalk. We have an active thread on SkyBus in this forum, so let me merge your post with it, to see if any SkyBus travelers can offer help. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz