Who killed Skybus Airlines? Here’s the surprising answer
Skybus Airlines became the fourth airline to fold in a week when it abruptly announced that it would cease all operations effective today. No one didn’t see this coming. But unlike the other air carriers that have expired, this one’s got all the makings of a real whodunit.
The airline would like us to believe it’s just a question of “what” killed it — circumstances beyond its control. (Sound familiar?)
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.
But that’s not all.
Skybus also had union problems. More than 80 percent of its pilots favored joining the Teamsters, which the airline claims would have killed it. Did it decide to commit suicide instead?
Then again, maybe it was just bad management. One insider had the following assessment:
While a lot had to do with fuel prices, there was an underlying issue that not many are aware of dealing with the employee group and unions. It may be common knowledge the pilots were about to vote in the union, but it was not due to their pay. It was due to working conditions.
The former Skybus manager says one executive in particular was to blame for poor morale. The executive, my source continues, had only one main concern: “Hire young pretty flight attendants with big boobs, and do not hire anyone fat.”
(My insider notes that the executive in question did not go down with the ship. He’s working with another startup airline overseas which, my source says, “he will surely lead to ruin yet again.”)
Don’t even get me started on the airline’s customer service challenges. Look, if you refuse to talk to your customers, even $10 fares can’t save you.
Of course, there might be another explanation for Skybus’ demise. Maybe the bloggers did it.
Yeah, I know. How could a few blog postings destroy an airline?
But this carrier clearly generated a lot of interest from the online community. The most-commented posting on my site is about Skybus. At last count, there were nearly 100 responses.
I’ve heard comments made by the Skybus brass that bloggers just didn’t “get” what they were trying to do. And they wasted no opportunity to criticize our efforts to make sense of it.
Bottom line: high fuel costs and a slowing economy didn’t make Skybus burn through $160 million in startup capital. It was incompetent management, a lack of vision and a pinch of paranoia that probably pushed it over the edge.
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11 Responses to “Who killed Skybus Airlines? Here’s the surprising answer”
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Chris Elliott killed Skybus = you know you wanted to say - so say it.
YOU did it. It was ALL your fault. The incessant blathering on about horrible service, poor training and bad management, it was just like wondering if we are in a recession by causing it by simply talking about it. No insufficient capitalization, not the result of high fuel prices or poor attitudes by hiring old unionized people who were either too stupid or too mean to keep jobs with other airlines, it was Christopher Elliot’s fault. And his little dog too.
Actually, when I heard the news, I was glad that this abomination was no longer operating. Imagine if they did well, and made money and expanded and that sort of service became the norm. Ugh.
I thought Skybus made 3 (after Aloha and ATA). Did I miss one?
Though I didn’t follow Skybus (or ATA) closely, I see some analogies with Aloha. It is easiest to say it was fuel, intense competition, or the economy. As you’re pointing out, that isn’t really the case for Skybus.
With Aloha, that wasn’t the case either. Following their lack of appropriate planes and routes, it was terrible management, customer service and reputation that put them out.
Champion Air is the 4th.
http://www.championair.com/PressRoom.asp?PressReleaseID=21
The Skybus crash was about poor management and a business assumption that if flying was cheap people would put up with anything. WRONG !! After the novelty was gone Skybus flights were seldom more than 60% booked.
I live in Punta Gorda , FL and hanger an aircraft at PGD. Now that the airport board has put all of its resources into accommodating Skybus we have a terminal , parking lots, staff and many other so called improvements that will sit vacant and require thousands of dollars to maintain and that equates to increased hanger fees and higher fuel prices so GA gets the shaft again . In short the board and management of PGD took a huge bite of a porqupines ass and got a mouth full of Quills ( Mr. Gary Quill is the airports director) all for Skybus. Thanks a bunch !!!!
Now don’t I feel like a sucker. Skybus left us stranded in Virginia. Their website conveniently neglected to inform us that flight operations ceased on midnight of 4/4, allowing us to check-in for our flight on 4/5 the night of 4/4. The loss of money on our flight home is nothing compared to the hassle of the unplanned and completely unexpected fact that we had to rent a car and drive home - to an airport that was still 2 hours from our house. With hotel costs, gas and car rental fees, we are out an additional $450.00. (The other airlines wanted no less than $450 per person to fly us home one way.) Had I read anything about Skybus other than their own website prior to booking our flight, it’s safe to say that Skybus never would have been in the equation. No more discount airlines for us. I will pay more for a plane ticket knowing that round trip truly means round trip!
To be honest, I did not have a problem with the Skybus model or even their lack of service. I communte every couple of weeks between upstate NY and Greensboro NC. I used Skybus as a less expensive alternative to “standard ” airlines. I accepted that there would be a lack of service, however the savings both economic and in time by having direct flights from Newburgh to Greensboro more than made up for any lack of service. I will miss Skybus it will be a great deal more difficult and much more expensive for me to travel.
[...] “Who killed Skybus Airlines? Here’s the surprising answer” [...]
My husband and I were stranded in Greensboro, NC this weekend…we found out 1 hour after we arrived that we had no way home. I’m not faulting Skybus…what is, is. I just want to file for a refund for the unused flights we have scheduled. My credit card company said we need an email from Skybus stating that we must file through our credit card company. Has anyone done this successfully yet and have they received a reply from Skybus?
Good news! I sent email messages this morning to all of the contacts from this website that I knew may still be at Skybus. I received a reply containing the information I need in less than two hours. The replay came from Barry G. Barnard (Barry.Barnard@skybus.com) so it appears they are helping out those of us who request it.
[...] Airlines | If you left work early on Friday you might’ve missed that Skybus shut its doors, making it three airlines to close up shop in a week. Elliott gives his take on “who killed Skybus?” [...]
I used skybus three times. RT from Greensboro NC to Harford CT for $25 one time, $50 one time, and $70 one time. All flights were on time. There was no service - on the other hand, at an average cost of $48 per round trip I had no complaints.