Skybus Announces First Destinations;
COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 24 /PRNewswire/ — With $10 tickets* available on every flight, Skybus Airlines will take to the skies May 22 and will offer nonstop service from Columbus to the Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay and Seattle/Vancouver areas, and to Ft. Lauderdale, Richmond, Kansas City and Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC.
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Tickets went on sale today exclusively at the airline’s web site – http://www.skybus.com/ – for flights through December 15.
“Beginning today, passengers can buy airline tickets for less than the cost of a tank of gas,” said Bill Diffenderffer, Skybus CEO. “Travelers who visit our web site will find outrageously low fares on nonstop flights to major markets and to cities that are underserved from Columbus. And these fares – starting with at least 10 seats at $10 on every flight – will always be offered. They are not ‘promotional’ fares that will go away in a couple of weeks. These are the everyday low fares we promised when we began working to build Skybus.”
Skybus’ initial flights – all nonstop and all on full-size Airbus A319 jets – will begin May 22 and serve:
— Los Angeles, through Burbank’s Bob Hope Airport — Boston, through Portsmouth International Airport in Portsmouth, NH — Kansas City — Richmond, VA (beginning May 23) On May 29, Skybus will add service to: — Seattle, WA and Vancouver, British Columbia, through Bellingham — International Airport in Bellingham, WA — Ft. Lauderdale — Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC
On June 12, Skybus will begin service to San Francisco, Oakland and the Bay Area, through Oakland International Airport, and add a second daily nonstop flight to Los Angeles/Burbank.
Diffenderffer said Skybus would announce additional destinations as its fleet of A319s expands. Skybus has agreements in place to acquire more than 70 aircraft over the next five years. Skybus will lease additional aircraft as it builds its fleet this year and next.
A Unique Mix of Destinations
“Most of our destinations are not currently served nonstop from Columbus,” Diffenderffer said. “We’ve put together a unique mix of destination airports, including:
— Primary metropolitan airports (such as Kansas City, Ft. Lauderdale, Richmond and Greensboro/Winston-Salem); — Convenient, well-known airports (such as Burbank in the Los Angeles area and Oakland in the San Francisco Bay area) that many travelers prefer over their more congested counterparts; — Secondary airports such as Portsmouth, NH and Bellingham, WA that give travelers easy access to nearby major markets.
For example, Portsmouth, NH is a quick 55-minute drive from Boston and convenient to Portland, ME and Manchester and Concord, NH; Bellingham is located between and is convenient to both Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia.
Because some of Skybus’ destination airports may not be familiar to many Central Ohioans, the Skybus web site provides easy-to-find information on the airports, their location, and options for ground transportation to their ultimate destination.
Keeping Costs Down Keeps Fares Low
“We know travelers are looking for really low fares and nonstop flights, and we believe our pricing structure will not only attract current flyers, but open up the market to many others who now find air travel simply too expensive,” Diffenderffer said. “Our strategy is to ‘decomplexify’ airline operations in ways that keep costs down while making flying as simple and convenient as possible for passengers.”
Skybus is able to keep its fares significantly below its competitors’ fares by:
— Using state-of-the-art technology to ensure high productivity. — Minimizing the time its aircraft are parked at gates or spending time taxiing on runways by using only highly efficient airports. — Flying all Airbus A319 full-size jets, one of the most fuel-efficient aircraft in commercial service. — Providing customers with an informative, easy-to-navigate web site that allows them to make and change reservations, rent cars, reserve hotel and resort accommodations, and purchase admission to popular attractions without the need for an expensive call center. — Maximizing revenue through a variety of ways including offering advertisers space on both the inside and outside of Skybus’ fleet. Earlier this month, Nationwide Insurance of Columbus unveiled the first of Skybus’ “co-branded” aircraft, with Nationwide branding messages on the plane’s exterior and throughout the interior of the aircraft.
The Skybus web site at http://www.skybus.com/ offers customers the ability to easily find the lowest fare available. Rather than being forced to search for flights on one given day, a unique “fare calendar” will show them at a glance the lowest fare available for an entire month, allowing them to shop for a fare that suits their budget.
Skybus’ pricing structure is designed to offer passengers the lowest fares available, then allow them to choose as many or as few add-ons as they like. Passengers have the option to check baggage, obtain priority boarding, and purchase a wide range of food and beverages and gift items on board their flight. All fares are also subject to fees and taxes applied to all airline tickets by the federal government and local airports.
*Does not include taxes and fees up to $7.90, and Sept. 11 Security Fee of $2.50.
About Skybus:
Skybus, the next generation of low-fare airlines, provides nonstop service on full-size jets from its base in Columbus, Ohio, to cities throughout the United States. Skybus offers outrageously low fares – starting with at least 10 seats at $10 on every flight. Skybus was founded in 2003 by John Weikle.
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Skybus Airlines
CONTACT: Bob Tenenbaum, +1-614-573-1377; or Rachel Escusa,+1-614-573-1381, both of TenUnited for Skybus Airlines
Web site: http://www.skybus.com/