Guess it was good we didn’t get Skybus

5 comments April 4th, 2008

File this under “unsurprising news at a surprising time”. Ultra-low-cost carrier Skybus is shutting down. While not said on their Web site, a press release the company just sent out indicates it’s also filing for bankruptcy. It joins ATA Airlines and Aloha Airlines, which also abruptly shut down this week.

The controversial Skybus, which offered fares as low as $10 but then charged for pretty much anything else, didn’t even last a year. Fuel prices have gone up around 60 percent in that time, according to the International Air Transport Association. A bad time to start up an airline, especially one relying on untested routes like Gary to Greensboro and Milwaukee to Columbus and using a model not seen in the US before (though popular in Europe with Ryanair). I don’t think it’s the last we’ll see of that model, but at least now I don’t have to write the phrase “ultra-low-cost carrier” anymore.

It’s no secret Chicago Rockford International Airport had spoken to them over the past year about coming here, but nothing got too serious and they chose Milwaukee and Gary instead. Poor Gary. You think RFD has problems keeping airlines? Gary is back down to none, though they’re working on some possibilities there.

Who will go down next?

Today’s fuel price musings - I’ve angered the fuel gods

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Everything has increased except my paycheck (Data courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com):

Gasoline: Rockford jumped four cents to $3.39 a gallon today,  while the state as a whole increased almost two cents to $3.43. We no longer have the sixth-highest gas prices in the state, we’re up to third. The record national average increased more than a cent to $3.30 a gallon. Illinois continues to have the sixth-highest gas prices in the country.

Diesel: Rockford increased less than a cent and remains barely at $4.09 a gallon. About half the state increased today, but we still have the third-highest diesel prices in the state. The state average remained at $4.14 a gallon and the nation remained at $4.02. Illinois is tied for the 11th-highest prices in the country.

Colbert Report “Threat Down” - Summer travel edition

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Tuesday night, Colbert went off on the trials and  tribulations of the airline industry. I laughed my fool head off as my poor wife rolled her eyes.

Check it out here (Warning: some language here may not be suitable for children).

The money quote -  “If I want to fly cheap on a plane that might not have all the parts, that’s my choice. I say let the free market decide which wires are necessary to deploy wheels for landings.”

If Skybus fails…

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Maybe “No Frills Airlines” will take its place.

(Courtesy of “Mad TV”)