Skybust

- May 22, 2007 Skybus Airlines flew its first ever flight from Ohio to California.
- October 22, 2007, Skybus Airlines named Greensboro its newest major hub.
- March 24, 2008 Skybus CEO resigns
- April 2, 2008 VP of Operations at Skybus resigns.
- April 4, 2008 Skyus shuts down and cancels all flights from here on out.

These are some of the major highlights in the short-life of Skybus airlines. I received a call from a frantic Lynn on Friday night saying, "Michael, did you hear? Skybus Airlines just went bankrupt... my mom just saw it on CNN." I immediately ran over to my computer at 10:30 p.m. and sure enough found an email that read...

"Dear Skybus customer,

We regret to inform you that Skybus Airlines will cease all operations effective 12:00 a.m. Saturday, April 5. As a result, your Skybus flight has been cancelled...

Skybus struggled to overcome the combination of rising jet fuel costs and a slowing economic environment. These two issues proved to be insurmountable for a new carrier."

So, with about 8 hours remaining before my flight, Skybus let me know that they were taking their ball and going home... without me. So, at that point I called my brother who was in Greensboro and said, "Bro, Skybus just went bankrupt. I need you to help me find a flight out of Boston for the morning." Within a few minutes we found an American Airlines flight out of Boston to RDU at 6 a.m.

My flight experience that morning was hardly what I received on Skybus. No more tongue-and-cheek comments from the flight attendants trying to sell us beef jerky. No more Caribou Coffee served in-flight. No more free long term parking at Peace Airport in Portsmouth, NH. No more light-hearted conversations with the person next me about how inexpensive our tickets were. No more people raising their hands when the flight attendants asked who were the $10 ticket holders. All of these great experiences were now but a memory.

I honestly hope Skybus make a comeback. They brought good business to smaller towns like Portsmouth, Greensboro, etc... And allowed businessmen and students to travel more often to and from major cities like Boston, NYC, Chicago, etc... via smaller airports. But, it would have been nice for them to go out on a high note, like finishing their flights, or even giving refunds (rather than through passenger credit card companies). Skybus really made a valiant effort to make their low-cost concept take flight, but given the market right now it just wasn't the right time... and the way they went out makes me think they aren't going to be making a comeback anytime soon.