Skybus Folds, Files Bankruptcy
As I’ve feared, Skybus has given up the ghost and folded. The action came suddenly on Friday night, leaving many booked and paid for passengers stranded and about 350 central Ohioans jobless.
This really was no suprise to many who have followed the progress of the start up airline, which started out promising, but soon fell victim to its own business model. Skybus claims it fell mainly to rising fuel prices and a slowing economy . . . maybe, but I think there was more to it.
The airline did all its communication online, which frustrated travelers to no end. The all-digital communication model is fine in the modern age for the basics, but having no after sale service at all is not. It its brief tenure as an active airline, Skybus became known for stranding passengers without providing a food or lodging credit or even so much as a real person one could voice a complaint to.
The extremely low fares promised by the “budget carrier” were somewhat elusive too. While my flight to Ft. Lauderdale last October was truly a deal ($80 round trip), I often found that if you weren’t online within minutes of new flights being posted, the overall cost of your proposed trip was no lower than what you could find on Southwest, JetBlue, American or Delta.
In my most recent post about Skybus, I observed that with other carriers offering both decent fares and service that it was time for Skybus to either step up, or step aside. In a meeting of the minds Friday afternoon, Skybus executives chose to do the latter.
Today, Skybus is expected to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court. What will happen to the nearly new Skybus fleet is still up in the air, as is the fate of the approximately 450 former Skybus employees, most of whom found out they were out of a job at the same time passengers found out they needed to find another way to their destination.
Passengers holding Skybus tickets are urged to contact their credit card carrier to apply for a refund.
Columbus, Ohio, OH, Skybus, air travel
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