Skybus Becomes #1 Airline at Port Columbus

Passenger figures are out for December 2007, and the Columbus Dispatch reports this evening that Skybus overtook Southwest as this City's #1 carrier in terms of passengers.

Congratulations Skybus, here is to continued growth.

Tom

Skybus Prepares for Tomorrow's Bad Weather

The Columbus Dispatch reports this evening that Skybus will waive their usual $40 change fee in anticipation of snowy and icy weather predicted at Port Columbus over the next 12 hours. If your travel plans are flexible, it may be worth a roll of the dice to get a different flight, especially if the price difference is negligible.

If your Skybus flight is canceled, each passenger gets a refund or booking on a future Skybus flight.

As of 8:48 Thursday evening, no flights have been scrubbed.

Delta, Midwest Drop Flights From Port Columbus

Although Skybus has increased Port Columbus' flying options, there have been casualties. As the Columbus Dispatch points out, Jet Blue left the airport after less than a year, and Delta dropped its non-stop flight from CMH to LAX. Now, Delta is dropping its non-stop to Ft. Lauderdale, and Midwest will stop direct service to Kansas City. Skybus serves both cities.

A few things about this move. I love Skybus. When I'm on vacation. If I'm traveling on business, I'd much rather take Midwest or Delta, especially since they have agreements with other airlines in case of cancellations or major screw ups. Skybus, unfortunately, does not offer such services.

Port Columbus has certainly gained a great deal from Skybus. It is unfortunate, however, that travelers here in town are losing choices, and in the long term, that is a losing situation for passengers.

Will Portsmouth be the Next Skybus Focus City?

I'd put my money on it. Megan and I frequently fly to Portsmouth, New Hampshire from Columbus and our flights are well booked.

USA Today in the sky has great insight about the Portsmouth Airport.

A planned $5 million expansion at the airport leads me to believe that Skybus will be flying in and out of Portland much more often come 2009.

Skybus Raises Baggage Fees from $5 to $12 Per Pag

Well, every new airline is an experiment, and Skybus is certainly no exception. I must tell you, Megan and have not minded paying the $5 per bag per flight charge, but now, the airline is increasing this cost to $12.00, according to the The Florida-Times Union. Checking the bag online will set you back only $10.00

The cost of priority boarding, which gets you onto the plane before everyone else, is also increasing, going from $10 to $12.50.

The airline cites rising fuel costs for the increased charges. Look for the new fee structure beginning in early March.

Will these changes affect your use of Skybus?

Tom

Skybus to Begin Flying to Cities other than Columbus!

This morning i received a Skybus e-mail announcing service from Portsmouth New Hampshire to Punta Gorda and Ft. Lauderdale. Service begins December 17th, and a quick search this morning revealed $10 tickets for every day in December.

Four New Skybus Destinations

This morning, Skybus added Milwaukee, Chattanooga, Gulfport-Biloxi, and Punta Gorda to their lineup. Plenty of $10 tickets available, beginning with flights on Decemeber 5th. Unfortunately, Skybus is still not selling any tickets beyond March 5th.

Have fun gobbling up those tickets!

Tom

Skybus and Punta Gorda, Finally

It looks like tiny Charlotte County airport will finally become Columbus based carrier Skybus' next and newest destination. I've known about this one for a while, and even heard it from a top executive at the airline that just happened to be sitting with my wife and I. Charlotte County has built a brand new terminal from the ground up for Skybus, and the destination will be popular. Southwest Florida, meet Columbus.

Look for the news at 11:00 tomorrow morning. The next question: When will Skybus release tickets for these flights? Time will tell.

Tom

A Skybus Narrative

Its amazing how much information is out there in the blogsphere.

Kylie, from Columbus, wrote a nice little narrative about her Skybus trip to Portsmouth New Hampshire on her MySpace blog. The two things I took from her post: 1. Tons of kids fly on Skybus and 2. Many of the passengers were new to flying. I'm guessing this market is exactly what Skybus was trying to target. Get people on airplanes that normally wouldn't get on them. It seems to be working. I read in the Columbus dispatch that the new airline transported over 60,000 people in June alone, their first full month of operation.

Checking in With Skybus

Jamie Rhein has written quite a nice analysis about the online check-in process that Skybus offers on their website. Although I wasn't quite clear about some of the details, this writeup is definitely worth reading if you have purchased a Skybus ticket. Link courtesy of Gadling, the traveler's weblog.

Skybus, First Hand Account: Checking-In

More Skybus Reviews

Now that Skybus has been flying for two months, there are quite a few reviews that run the gamut from scathing to down right encouraging. Yelp.com has four nice reviews here:

Skybus Reviews

Skybus Hasn't Pleased Everyone

Last Thursday's Skybus cancellation of a flight from Columbus to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, did not turn out well. It sounds like Skybus needs to work on a "plan B" if their flights are canceled. The Hunter family from New Hampshire details their 28 hour trip from Columbus to Portsmouth in an article at Seacoastonline.com. The bottom line? I don't think this family will be flying on Skybus in the future.

Skybus 'nightmare' sours local family

Skybus receives DOT approval for Cancun, Nassau

Thats right, as reported here on the Skybus Blog, Skybus will be flying to these two popular vacation destinations from Columbus. No tickets on sale yet, but the airline says that Cancun flights will commence October 1st 2007, with service to the Bahamas beginning in early 2008.

Skybus gets OK for Mexico, Bahamas flights

People Like Skybus

Skybus reviews are popping up on blogs all across the internet.

Here is one such review:

Thoughts on Skybus

Skybus has First Cancellation

The Columbus Dispatch did an excellent writeup on Skybus Airline's first cancellation. Last Thursday's flight from Port Columbus to Portsmouth New Hampshire didn't make it due to stormy weather near Pease airport. It sounds like the Skybus plane actually landed in Hartford Connecticut, finally turning back for Columbus. Some passengers were able to make it to Portsmouth the next day, while others had their money refunded.

Weather forces first cancellation for Skybus.