My First Encounter with Skybus Airlines

I had the opportunity to use Skybus Airlines for the first time this weekend.   It was for a brief overnight trip.

The experience was overall positive.  You simply cannot beat the price; and many were willing to withstand some of the downsides to save money on the fare.  The flights were fairly full.

A deep-discount airline like this makes flying possible for more people, and that is good in many ways.   They employ a number of strategies to keep costs down, many of which have been reported elsewhere previously.

The downsides?  First, my flights were 30 minutes and 60 minutes late, respectively.  This is not, by any means, a catastrophic delay for most people, and many likely will accept it for the lower fare; but the on-time performance was less than stellar.  In addition, the staff did not make any effort to advise waiting customers what was happening, or what the revised departure time would be. 

Second, there is very little legroom.  Their seats are spaced to maximize the number that can be placed on a given plane.  I think a tall person might have had some real problems.

Third, there is no assigned seating; so there is no guarantee you will be able to sit next to your travel companion(s).

Fourth, the airline flies into small airports as part of its business strategy.  These airports may not have any connections to mass transit; and they may have limited options for, say, rental cars.  I had to scramble a bit to get a rental car at my destination airport.

It was interesting to see the airline stewardesses hawking consumer items on the flight as part of the business strategy to increase sales per unit passenger.   What were they selling?   A large package of beef jerky; perfume; jewelry and watches; children's items; etc.  It was very different.  They represented that the airline was doing this to enable it to continue operating, and to be able to serve more cities.  I saw very few passengers purchasing these items, and I wonder whether this is a sound business strategy.

Already it has been reported that the airline may be facing financial pressures-- for instance, the rising cost of jet fuel, and the potential impending unionization of its staff.

Henry Isaacson, PTI chairman and local attorney, has opined in the local press that discount airlines like Skybus are the future of the industry.  I hope he is right; and that would be great for consumers.

But the reality is that these airlines must charge enough to cover their expenses, remain viable, and ultimately demonstrate some value to shareholders.  And running an airline is not inexpensive.

My advice to locals: enjoy it while it lasts, however long that may be.

Addendum 03/25: I wrote this post before seeing the N&R article this AM regarding the resignation of Skybus' CEO. 

Another observation, however, is with regard to the process of boarding and exiting the plane with Skybus.  You have to walk, old-fashioned style, onto the tarmac and ascend upward into the plane.   They place a rolling stairway at the plane's rear door; and an interesting ramp apparatus rolls up to the front door, presumably to achieve access for the disabled.

The rolling ramp apparatus, however, is apparently difficult for Skybus staff to push and steer.  So you have to sit, wait patiently and watch them make multiple attempts to have it align properly with the front door before passengers can enter or leave the plane.  My advice: if you are able, use the back door, and sit in the rear of the plane.   

   

Comments

[jc]

I too have flown Skybus and the experience was positive. I did upgrade to have priority seating. Also booked rental car in advance. The airport in Florida was so small baggage claim on one side and rental car desks on the other. This made the task very convienient. Also, rental cars were right out front door so there was no shuttle to get on. Also convienient and time saving. Another plus is that since Skybus is probably the only
carrier at these airports, the lines are minimal and move quickly. If the plane is late and mine was on the return, they turn the plane around very fast. The plane I flew on appeared to be new.

The negatives are what you mentioned above.

I hope they do stay in business and would urge everyone to give them a try.

[GsoFan]

I have flown Skybus too and found the experience to be positive. I will fly them again. I agree, delayed flights are an inconvenience, but if your flying Skybus you don't have to worry about missing a connecting flight. All of their flights are destination to destination. To me, not having to change planes is a huge plus.

With Skybus you get what you pay for, I paid a little extra for priority seating. I also reserved my rental car in advance.
Flying into underutilized airports like Greensboro is much more relaxing than flying into a major airport. Security, baggage claim and car rentals were much easier.

[Charlie]

My sister has flown them to see relatives in GSO once or twice, and had a good experience.

As for the 30-60 minute delays, an hour would be less than the average delay I have experienced on my last 10 flights out of New York where, I live, and one has to realize that delays in the Northeast corridor jam everybody up from Florida to Chicago to Bangor because of the ATC rules as they are now.

I had hoped to take advantage of the cheaper fares on my next trip back to Carolina, but the schedule out of Stewart Newburgh and the pain in the butt (Metro North from Grand Central to a bus, 2 hours total depending on the day) made it impossible. The Port Authority is going to make travel from the city to Stewart easier in coming years, but until it does, I will be doing the fun dance at LaGuardia or Newark. Joy.

[Bubba]

"My advice: if you are able, use the back door, and sit in the rear of the plane."

I figured that out right before my first Skybus flight to Columbus last September.

I watched the flight arrive from the gate area window, and saw how they deplaned. It was obvious the rear door was the smart choice.

I plan to use Skybus again in June (hopefully) to fly to Boston (Portsmouth, NH) in June. I intend on getting a rental car reserved early.

[Roger Greene]

Remember Altair, People's Express, and Trump Shuttle? Most people do that flew them. they're all extinct for doing exactly what Skybus is attempting. Airline operating costs are so difficult to contain. Unionization will do to them what it's done for the steel, auto, and other manufacturing industries. I hope they make it, but have seen too many go the way of the dinosaur to be optimistic about them.

[Joe Guarino]

Roger, I agree. It will be tough for Skybus to pull this off. JetBlue and AirTran appear to be hanging in there so far, but at larger airports that can generate bigger volumes, I suppose.

Bubba, you figured out the back door angle faster than I did.

Charlie, you illustrate the difficulty with mass transit connections. My flight was to New Castle, Delaware to enable a quick visit to Philadelphia-- about 45 minutes away. There was no mass transit, although I knew about that beforehand. If folks have to take a taxi, the cost benefit of using Skybus could evaporate away at least partially.

GsoFan and jc, your points about the advantages of using smaller airports are on target. There are some huge benefits. In my particular case, I tried to rent a car in advance, but the only car rental companies serving this particular airport were supposed to be closed at the time of day I was arriving. You cannot assume they will always be open, depending on the airport. I had to make special arrangements. In addition, if you need to take a meal at the airport, you may have very limited options, if any.

[Dawn in NC]

I flew SkyBus over the weekend as well, and will use them again, but not for just any trip.
Our outbound leg on Wednesday night, Greensboro to Punta Gorda, FL (which they list on their website as "Ft. Myers") was delayed 4 hours by weather back-ups up north. There was almost no information made available to those of us waiting, and we received mis-information a couple of times at the gate. They don't have a customer service phone line, so I finally called my mom and had her look up our new scheduled departure time online (which was accurate). The staffing level is very low at the airport, which of course is part of how they keep it cheap! While it was certainly frustrating to be delayed so many hours, I saw from watching the boards that other airlines had CANCELLED their flights out of Greensboro, so I guess I was grateful to get out at all.
Fortunately, since we were traveling in the wee hours, the staff dispensed with the in-flight sales pitches and let us sleep.
I was worried about our Avis rental car (booked through SkyBus), since the airport is so tiny and we'd be arriving around 2am instead of 10pm as planned, but the Avis people were still there and the advantage of the small airport for getting in & out quickly was clear.
We did spot the same trick with speedy boarding and disembarking that someone else noted -- board the rear stairway, which was great.
Our return on Sunday night was great -- everything on time, super speedy.
I will use them again for sure, even with the unpleasantness of the outbound taken into account.

[Joe Guarino]

Thanks, Dawn, and sorry about the delay you had.

[Everest]

Joe - we flew Skybus out of G'boro to Biloxi several months ago and had a great experience! Booked for $135 roundtrip three days before departure. Legroom was tough, "cross-selling" was strange and I would choose priority seating. But our flight actually left EARLY and we almost missed it...

The issue of the business plan is interesting, but it can and has worked. Check out Ryanair in Europe - same business model and VERY successful.

[Joe Guarino]

Everest, I am glad you had a good experience; and I would certainly fly Skybus again.

I don't claim to know whether the airline will ultimately survive-- under what circumstances, or what adjustments, if any, might be necessary. But the deep-discount model has obvious appeal. Because the experience is so different, however, travelers would be well advised to understand the terrain completely before flying.

[Jennifer]

I live in Columbus Ohio, They just announced skybus is going out of business on 4/5/08 12pm

[Joe Guarino]

That is pretty jarring news, Jennifer. I had suspected it would be difficult for them to survive; but I had no idea it would be this soon.

[Jennifer]

I know I am very sad. I fly on them all the time. I have relatives in Boston and In Ft. Meyers. I just flew on them Tuseday. I even bought items to show my support. In Columbus they were the #1 airline for months. the seats were always full.

[Roger Greene]

Not here to gloat but that was pretty easy to predict. How much of the bag will the taxpayers of Greensboro and the Triad be holding?

[Joe Guarino]

Jennifer, I am sorry about your loss. I know many people will be very disappointed in our area also, myself included. Even though I suspected deep down it was not going to work, I wanted it to succeed, because it is wonderful to be able to fly so much more inexpensively. For many people, it means the difference between flying, and not flying.

And Roger, yes, you were absolutely right. You called it correctly.

Another person who was right was Sam Hieb over at Piedmont Publius, who was one of the early critics of the Skybus incentives deal at PTI. He now attains the status of a clairvoyant. I am not sure how much local incentive money-- and investments made to accommodate the airline-- are lost because of the company's failure.

[Jennifer]

Joe - I was just checking out your info and thought you might be like a friend of mine. He is the publisher of a new magazine for Italian-Americans. The magaizine is Buona Salute and the web is www.saluteitalianmagazine.com

Tell Rob DeFeo, the owner, Jennifer McIntyre from Columbus sent you!

Hope you don't mind me telling you about this. I used to work for several Italian-American newspapers in Columbus, even though I am not Italian, I know how close your community is!

[Joe Guarino]

Thanks, Jennifer, for the info. What I do here is on a much smaller scale than your friend Rob. But I checked out his website, and he seems to be doing a lot with his magazine. I bet you have some stories to tell with your work experience at those newspapers.:)

[Jennifer]

Oh yes - I have a very serious respect for your community. Rob is always looking for writers and stories too. You may want to contact him, and tell him I sent you. I guess I won't be seeing you on any Skybus flights, but it was very nice to talk with you. Funny, how I keep running into Italian-Americans and working for them and listening to thier stories. Some of the older people used to write into the magazine I worked for in Columbus and complained about me, the only non-Italian working there. : )

[Bubba]

Time to re-plan that Boston trip in June.

Stuff happens.

[Joe Guarino]

Thanks, Jennifer.

And yes, Bubba, it does. Do you think you will get your money back?