The story
History
Taking advantage of America West Airlines pulling down its Columbus, Ohio hub, its founder, John Weikle, started raising capital to start the airline in that city. Two years later, the Skybus board hired Bill Diffenderffer as its CEO. Diffenderffer's prior airline experience was as in-house counsel for Eastern Airlines and CEO of Continental Airlines System One Reservations. At the time Skybus began operations it was the most heavily capitalized (funded) airline in US history. Its founder, John Weikle, resigned one day after Skybus began its first passenger flights.
On April 24, 2007, Skybus Airlines announced their initial set of eight destinations, all of which originated from their hub at Port Columbus International Airport in Columbus. At first, Skybus operated a strict point-to-point service, not booking flights between destination cities that were not Columbus, but the company later announced it would begin flying direct flights from its Portsmouth, NH, destination to two locations in Florida. In addition, prices of tickets and details on extra fees were announced the same day. Service between Port Columbus and the other eight destinations began on May 22, and the airline also announced its intention to expand rapidly.
The expansion plans were not envisioned in the original business plan, and, in some instances, it expanded to cities that management did not choose on the basis of computer models used with its initial destination cities (Chattanooga, TN, for example). As part of its business model, Skybus favored smaller, cheaper airports near major markets. To serve Boston, for example, Skybus chose Portsmouth (New Hampshire) International Airport. Skybus marketed itself as an ultra-low-cost carrier, selling ten seats on each flight for $10. The low fares came with a reduction of frills. There were charges for virtually everything else (see Skybus business model), including checked baggage charges, which were later implemented by other carriers such as Delta, Northwest and United.
On July 24, 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation granted Skybus the right to fly international flights to Cancún, Mexico and Nassau, Bahamas. Two months later, the airline announced that it would begin daily service from Portsmouth to St. Augustine and Fort Myers, Florida, served by the Charlotte County Airport in Punta Gorda in December 2007.
The airline made news during the Christmas 2007 travel season, when it encountered problems with two of its seven planes, resulting in the cancellation of about 25% of its scheduled service over a two-day period. As a result of not having de-icing contracts in place in advance of winter 2007–08, Skybus was forced to take significant delays and incurred thousands of dollars in additional de-icing costs. On March 24, 2008, Skybus announced that chief executive Bill Diffenderffer had resigned to return to his previous occupation as an author.
Timeline
Skybus conducted its inaugural flight on May 22, 2007, when the airline began flights from the Port Columbus, OH base. The first service that did not have a Columbus end point began December 17, 2007, when Skybus began flights between Portsmouth and St. Augustine as well as Punta Gorda, Florida.
On October 16, 2007, Skybus announced it was eliminating service to San Diego and Bellingham, and cutting one flight a day to Burbank. The cuts were made due to rising fuel costs as it was more cost effective to use the current fleet on shorter and more profitable runs.
At the same time, Skybus said it would add a second daily flight to Greensboro, North Carolina, which was now its second focus city, and a third seasonal daily flight to Punta Gorda, Florida.
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On October 22, 2007, Skybus announced the opening of a new hub at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina.
On January 8. 2008, Service began in New York (Stewart International Airport/Newburgh, NY),
On February 6, 2008, Skybus announced that it would end service to the West Coast effective in June, except for a single daily nonstop to Burbank.
On March 8, 2008, Skybus landed its first flight at Wilmington-Philadelphia Regional Airport, south of Wilmington, Delaware, a less congested alternative to Philadelphia International Airport. Many travelers in the Philadelphia area preferred the smaller airport without the congestion issues of Philadelphia International Airport. Skybus announced on March 19, 2008, that "previously announced service between Columbus and Niagara Falls, NY, [before it even started], as well as a previously announced second daily flight between Columbus and Milwaukee, will not begin." Also announced was all service to/from Chattanooga, TN, would end on April 14, 2008, along with a cut from two to one daily flight from Greensboro, NC, and Wilmington, DE, and elimination of the Greensboro, NC, and Gulfport-Biloxi, MS, flight.
On April 4, 2008, Skybus announced the cessation of all flights effective with the last scheduled departure of the day. Service was set to begin on June 1, 2008, between Boston (Portsmouth, NH), Springfield, MA, (Chicopee, MA), Punta Gorda, FL, St. Augustine, FL, and Richmond, VA.
From Wikipedia’s article on Skybus Airlines, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4