is a privately held
Airline based in
Columbus ,
Ohio ,
USA . It is an ultra-
Low-cost Carrier , modeled after the
Europe an airline
Ryanair and the early years of Southwest Airlines. Skybus's business model aims to be the least expensive
Airline in the United States, with fares up to 25% less than
Southwest . The
Business Model also includes
Advertising on the interior and exterior of its
Aircraft as well as selling merchandise onboard to increase revenue.
In January 2005, Skybus filed a proposal to the
United States Department Of Transportation to start operations from
Port Columbus International Airport ,
and received approval on
March 15 ,
2006 .
The airline received FAA certification on
May 10 ,
2007 ,
though was granted a waiver that allowed them to begin ticket sales on April 24
th.
The first flights out of Columbus began on
May 22 2007 .
What was to become Skybus was initially founded in the late
1990s by John Weikle and Ken Gile. This early venture went by the name of
Heartland Airlines and planned to operate
Boeing 717 s out of
Dayton, Ohio . Working with
JP Morgan , the airline almost reached startup, but failed to raise the necessary capital and was eventually abandoned.
Years later, the concept was resurrected, this time under the name of "Skybus Airlines". Taking advantage of
America West Airlines pulling out as a
Hub of Columbus, they started gathering capital to start the airline in that city.
On
April 24 ,
2007 , Skybus Airlines announced their initial set of eight destinations, all of which originate from their hub at
Port Columbus International Airport in Columbus. They will initially be operating a strict hub-and-spoke service denying the ability to book round-trip flights between destination cities that are not Columbus. It is unclear whether this will change as more flights are offered, however. In addition, prices of tickets and details on extra fees were announced the same day. The low fares come at a price. There are charges for checking bags and for preferred seating. The airline also shuns
Jetways , using ground-level-boarding ramps and
Airstairs instead.
On
July 24 , 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation granted Skybus the right to fly international flights to
Cancún ,
Mexico and
Nassau, Bahamas .
The airline hopes to begin service sometime around the beginning of October for at least one of the flights.
The airline is currently selling tickets to existing locations through early March, 2008.
See Also: Skybus Airlines destinations
Currently, Skybus provides service to twelve destinations throughout the
United States . On May 22, 2007, Skybus began flights from Port Columbus to its first three destinations,
Burbank ,
California ,
Kansas City ,
Missouri , and
Portsmouth ,
New Hampshire . On May 23, Skybus added its fourth destination when it began flying to
Richmond ,
Virginia . The airline added three more destinations on May 29 when they began flying to
Bellingham ,
Washington ,
Fort Lauderdale ,
Florida , and
Greensboro ,
North Carolina . Service to
Oakland ,
California began on June 12, service to
San Diego ,
California , and
Chicopee ,
Massachusetts began on July 16, and service to
St. Augustine ,
Florida began on July 18, 2007, which brought Skybus' operations to twelve total cities and eleven destinations from Columbus.
On October 1, 2007, Skybus will begin service to
Nassau, Bahamas , and
Cancún, Mexico , which will bring the airline's operations to fourteen total cities and thirteen destinations served from their Columbus hub.
Advertised fares to all current target cities will begin at $10 one-way, although the price increases as more tickets are sold for that flight. Though the exact number of $10 tickets are not advertised, Skybus guarantees that a minimum of ten such tickets will be offered for each flight. Ticket prices for the remaining fares is expected to be around half the price of other airlines. These fares do not include taxes and other airport fees, however, which add around $10 to a one-way ticket. All fees included, the cheapest round-trip ticket for one adult will cost approximately $40.
In order to keep fares low, Skybus charges extra for almost everything other than the ticket itself. Carry-on baggage (one bag plus one personal item) is free, but checked bags cost extra. The first two bags under fifty pounds cost $5 each, with each additional bag after two costing $50. Overweight baggage, those weighing over fifty but under seventy-five pounds, are charged an extra $25, and all bags over seventy-five pounds are not accepted.
Though seating is first-come, first-served, passengers can also pay an extra $10 each way for priority seating which will allow them to board right after passengers with disabilities.
On-board, everything from food and drinks to pillows cost extra, though once purchased, items do not need to be returned. In order to maximize revenue from these fees, Skybus attempts to strictly enforce their no food and drink policy. They will ask that passengers dispose of food and drink before boarding the plane, however, passengers taking food on board will not be asked to put it away.
Attempting to emulate Ryanair's business model and Southwest's people-friendly attitude, Skybus has committed itself to be the least expensive airline in the industry with a projected
CASM 28% lower than Southwest. To achieve this, Skybus plans to utilize multiple measures designed to keep revenue high and costs low.
In an effort to keep maintenance and operating costs to a minimum, most equipment purchased is uniform. This covers the full range of equipment, from engines, to electrical components, to personnel gear. Because of this, Skybus plans on paying significantly less on employee training and for equipment service.
Another major method of cost reduction is to utilize secondary airports, which are generally less congested and charge less to lease space though they may be further from the advertised destination. To save even more money at the airport, passengers board directly from the
Apron instead of using the
Jetway , saving both loading/unloading time as well as operating costs. Finally, ticket sales are entirely online. This not only saves on employee costs, but completely eliminates the need for a reservations call center.
In order to keep
Wage s in line with their projected low
Fare s,
Flight Attendants are only paid $9 per flight hour, and will not be paid a ''per diem''. While this is considerably lower than competing airlines' wages, flight attendants also receive 10% of all sales made during the flight, splitting all commissions evenly among all flight attendants on-board. Starting
Pilot wages are also below average, starting at $65,000 annually for Captains, and $30,000 for First Officers.
The average commercial airline pilot wage is approximately $135,000.
While cutting costs is a high priority for Skybus, revenue is their primary focus. Skybus aircraft are outfitted as flying gift shops, selling everything from
Soda and
Food to
Perfume s,
Watch es,
Clothing , and toiletries.
Advertisements can also be seen throughout the cabin and exterior. This can include overhead bins, carpet, tray tables, and full-body exterior advertisements (see below). The price for interior advertisements has not been released, though a company who purchases a full-body advertisement can also buy all interior advertisements for a small increase in price. A complete list of where advertisements will be placed has not been released, however.
On
October 26 ,
2006 , Skybus announced a deal with the European
Aircraft Manufacturer Airbus to buy 65 of their
Airbus A319 aircraft. The order carries an estimated retail price of $3 billion, though the actual price Skybus will pay has not been announced. Skybus plans to lease aircraft of the same type until the new aircraft begin delivery in late 2008.
On
February 14 ,
2007 , Skybus announced they had chosen the CFM56-5B
Engine built by
CFM International to power the 65 A319 aircraft on order from Airbus. The actual price Skybus will pay for the engines was not disclosed, but the list price for the order is estimated at over $750 million.
Original images of a livery design described by some as "psychedelic" emerged on the internet, but since then the all orange design displaying the butterfly logo on the tail made its appearance on the Columbus
Tarmac . This design is not the standard livery for all Skybus aircraft, however, as their airplanes are for sale as "branded airplanes" to any company that can afford the $500,000 per year price tag. A branded airplane features a full-body advertisement along the
Fuselage , with the tail and engines of the plane remaining the Skybus paint scheme. The first sponsored aircraft, aircraft N522VA leased from
Virgin America , was recently repainted in a theme promoting
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company .
The first leased aircraft for Skybus are coming from Virgin America and will have only 144 seats on board and will fly with 3 Flight Attendants.
In an effort to attract the airline to the city, as well as support its growth early on, the city of Columbus, along with the
Columbus Regional Airport Authority , has offered incentives totaling over $57 million. These incentives include a twelve-year
Tax Credit , promised airport improvements, business
Loan s, and
Marketing support. Most of the incentives are performance-based, which requires Skybus to create 1000 jobs and complete other milestones to receive the incentives.
Incentives such as airport improvements, however, are already complete. When Skybus began operations, they took advantage of $11 million of improvements to their gates in
Concourse B at Port Columbus.
Skybus is financed by numerous high-profile companies nationwide and locally. As of
April 2 , 2007, Skybus has raised an estimated $160 million in startup capital, and $72.7 million in their second round of fund raising.
This puts Skybus in a positive light with many investors, having raised one of the largest amounts of funds in the history of startup airlines. In comparison,
JetBlue Airways , which began operations in 1999, raised $130 million prior to starting ($157 million adjusted for inflation).
Skybus Airlines' startup finances is currently provided by a number of large investors. These include: , Wolfe Enterprises (owner of
The Columbus Dispatch ), and
Battelle Services Co. Inc.
