Skybus Airlines
Note: Skybus has ceased operations.
http://www.skybus.com
4324 E. Fifth Ave.
Columbus, OH 43219
(614) 246-8800
Note: Skybus doesn’t operate a call center and only accepts customer queries by e-mail.
Overview
Skybus is too new to have a reputation, but the early signs are not promising. It won’t allow customers to contact it by phone. It also has “rules” about flying, such as “Hungry? Thirsty? Bring cash,” and “Don’t be late. We won’t wait,” that seem indifferent at best and at worst, customer-hostile. Hopefully it’s all just rhetoric and Skybus will turn out to be the next Southwest. Then you won’t need the contact information in this file. But you never know …
If you have a customer complaint, please read this before contacting the company.
Customer service resources
Contract of carriage
Email form
Primary e-mail
Primary contact
Floyd Nickerson
Vice president, people
(614) 246-8800
fnickerson@skybus.com
Executives (*)
Kenneth Gile
President and chief operating officer
(614) 246-8800
kgile@skybus.com
Bill Diffenderffer
Chief executive officer
(614) 947-3103
bdiffenderffer@skybus.com
This information has been collected from publicly-available resources and is believed to be accurate at the time of the last update. If any of this information is inaccurate, please e-mail me.
* Executives should only be contacted when your letter or email has not been acknowledged within six to eight weeks.
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Comments
57 Responses to “Skybus Airlines”
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I wanted to thank you for the skybus address,exec names and emails.
I had a reservation that mysteriously disappeared on me and it looked like I was going to be out of luck. No responses from the Skybus web helpdesk and no other avenues to take prompted me to search for the corporate headquarters in person. I actually found the hidden offices and was able to get someone to unlock the door and let me in. Once I was inside, I pleaded my case and the reservation was reinstated. To say the least, they were shocked to have a customer show up in there corporate lobby. Thanks again!!
I had a piece of luggage that was badly damaged, our flight got in very late and there was no one in uggage services from sky bus. I e-mailed sky bus the very next day and I feel as though I am being totally ignored, I have been e-mailing them for three weeks now with no response. I feel your pain of feeling ignored and not having a great customer service experience.
Recently my husband recently left his cell phone on the plane. The phone was locked into a manager’s office… fine. The manager, however, took with her both keys to that office (one of which was supposed to be on the premise at all times per port authority), and refused to bring the keys back for his return flight, or my return flight which was two days later. She doesn’t work set hours and will not commit to being at the baggage office at any time. Needless to say, we still don’t have the phone nor are our phone calls being returned. The hardest part is that we live 2 hours away from Columbus…
I had an issue with the skybus web page. It timed out on me so I hit the refresh button, it must of went to a default which was Ft Lauderdale, I was supposed to fly into Ft Myers. I have emailed them many times with the same response. They can do nothing to help. They also have changed my flight times. Thanks Sky Bus you suck!!
I’m posting this because I’m trying to get the word out that Skybus is capable of totally screwing you.
My husband and I scored $10 tickets from Columbus to Los Angeles (Burbank) - the way out to L.A. was fine. But when we got to Burbank Airport to leave L.A. at 6:00 AM we found out our flight was cancelled. We checked in and printed out our boarding passes at our hotel prior to leaving for the airport - not a hint on Skybus’ Web site about the cancellation!!!!! We actually went ALL the way through security and to the gate only to see a big “CANCELLED” sign and a few bewildered fellow travelers. We left security (ugh) and returned to the Skybus kiosk area where there was a woman in sweatpants and a Skybus t-shirt who said “yeah, your flight is cancelled” and then offered NO explanation, NO assistance in finding another flight (her response to us was “I have no idea what other airlines fly to Columbus”), and NO hotel or food vouchers (although their Web site does say that’s not an option if you read the fine print). The Skybus rep LITERALLY shrugged her shoulders and said “I can put you on one of our other flights in a few days or you can get a refund for this portion of your trip”. Um, yeah, thanks for the offer to refund our $20 - that will be useful in covering our $750 ticket on Southwest in order to get us home!!!!!! So $750, 16 hours, and several cities later (L.A. to Phoenix to Chicago to Columbus), SOUTHWEST got us home. But we got the last two tickets on that Southwest flight - I’m SURE there are STILL fellow passengers from that cancelled Skybus flight still stuck in L.A.! So, our el-cheapo $130 tickets (two tickets with taxes, priority seating charges, etc) ended up costing us $880. That’s because apparently there’s no way to receive a Skybus refund! There’s no 1-800 number and there’s no link on their Web site. I contacted their Help Center on the Skybus Web site, but the fine print states that due to their volume of emails (mostly complaints, I’m sure!) that it’s unlikely that they will respond. So, they got my money and screwed me too.
I am an experienced traveler and HAVE experienced flight cancellations on other airlines. However, ALL other airlines I’ve experienced this with have offered (and succeeded) to find me another flight ON ANOTHER AIRLINE at NO COST TO ME. Since Skybus is all about being super cheap, they cannot afford to offer such lovely customer service nor do they have relationships with other airlines that would facilitate such service. Instead, they choose to leave their customers stranded at the airport. You get what you pay for.
Obviously you don’t understand how you are able to get $10 tickets to the other side of the US. That’s ok, must be an intellignce thing. I suggest researching Ryanair. Flights get cancelled daily with all other airlines, yes it’s more crucial with Skybus at this point considering they only have 5 aircraft. Would you much rather they fly “you” on a plane that is mechanically unsafe or if the weather was unsafe. No but if they did you’d be the first to bitch I’m sure. I think they’re doing a wonderful job, they’ve only been flying since May, and are still growing. I applaud Skybus for giving families the opportunity to be able to afford to travel, with EXCELLENT customer service. The cry babies don’t have to fly Skybus, they can go pay their $400 tickets somewhere else and still bitch about something.
You should have just purchased the travel insurance which would have been dirt cheap on your $10 tickets. It would have covered the cost of your Southwest ticket. I can gaurantee you that NO other low cost carrier would have put you on another airline. That’s how they’re able to stay low cost. Sure, Southwest can better get you to your destination in the event they have a cancellation, but they also have hundreds of planes! Skybus has FIVE! It’s very unfortunate that your flight was cancelled and I’d be frustrated too, however there are reasons that travel insurance exists, and this happened to be one of them.
Stop the complaining!!!! I know it is the American way to complain!
You can not expect a baby(new) airline to offer the same service reliability as an Grand Daddy(been around for years) airline!
You get what you pay for in an Airline. If you want a reliable
Airline then pay the price. I’ve been flying Alaska Airlines 4 to 6 times a year for over
10 years and never had a problem, lost luggage or dealt with snobby employees.
Are there any New Yorkers out there who have flown Skybus Airlines? I am writing an article for a major New York newspaper about this airline, and I’d like to hear about your positive or negative experiences…Please email me ASAP at jason@jasonrich.com…Thanks!
Let’s begin with a solid number — 67% failure rate. 2 out of 3 flights I have booked on Skybus have been cancelled. I have experience on several other airlines but none with such a pathetic record. Much is said of their $10 rates. I challenge you to try to find that price between Columbus and Burbank, even looking out to May, 2008. For the most part, their round trip tickets on that route are approximately the same as US Air. Factor in taxi, motels and rental rates in southern California when you are stranded due to their cancellation, passenger costs quickly approach a First Class ticket on a major carrier. One of my delays threw me in the cost range of flying on the Concord. Many of the other contributors to this site have commented on luggage issues. One of my fellow passengers was asked to return to Columbus from their home in Dayton when their luggage was misdirected. Some of the comments have focused on “customer service”. My experience has been more related to “customer dis-service”. For example, we were told in Burbank by the gate attendant that a ticket could not be split but if one passenger were to check in and not the other, that the second flyer would be given a refund. That was not the case and repeated emails to Skybus Customer (Dis)Service have gone unanswered. Additionally, the preboarding announcement warns travelers not to bring food or water onto the flight. However, if you read the narrative on the company’s website, they note that they may not have sufficient food for everyone. I found that to be the case. I suspect the first diabetic shock passenger they have will be reason to review their “no food or drink” policy. Finally, passengers should be aware that the airline has no backup attendants. One of my recent cancellations was due to an attendant becoming ill on the Burbank leg of the Columbus flight. Federal guidelines require 1 attendant per 50 passengers. It didn’t occur to the airline to randomly bump all passengers above the count of 100 so, with no backup attendant, the plane deadheaded back to Columbus minus all passengers. It was late getting to Columbus, and of course late getting back to Burbank. The city of Columbus and Nationwide Insurance proudly associate themselves with the company. Given my experience, that’s like owning and operating the Exxon Valdez!
The reason you are not finding flights to Burbank in May of 2008 is because they have cut those flights out starting the beginning of the year. I feel your story has been blown way out of proportion. My experience has never been better, and on top of that, every person I have talked to raves about Skybus. Now keep in mind that these are face to face encounters with real people that have actually flown on Skybus. Not the mindless rantings of an internet blogger who has taken a break from World of Warcraft. So thank you for your warning, but I will rely on people I deem trustworthy.
I enjoyed both my flight from Burbank and back this past week. Foggy weather delayed my first flight but Skybus was the first flight to land as they had prepared for the expected fog. My return flight arrived 30 minutes early. I can’t complain for the $170.00 roundtrip airfare I paid, plus $10.00 for my bag each way. I read many things about this airline and have traveled the world. Will it have growing pains, yes. In the end, its fares beat all if not most major carriers. If USAIR has the flights at the same
price as Skybus then fly them. I am sure it will be non-stop and there will be no
problems with USAIR (oh wait, there has been, ie Philadelphia baggage meltdown).
Any airline can have a problem, but I think skybus is doing just fine. And for all those
people mentioning the food issue, I have seen people on board with snacks for their
kids and such. They didn’t get kicked off. So I am sure if you are diabetic and need
certain foods or have wheat gluten issues etc, you can bring something to tide you
over on your flight. All one has to do is ask or just do it. No news stories of someone being thrown off the plane at 35,000 feet for bringing their own food.
On a positive note.. I am a flight attendant for a major airline carrier and booked a flight to Burbank on Skybus,because of the non stop flight, that says alot right there,but let me tell you, I was impressed! The crew was absolutely great, professional, fun, informative, and the servise was fantastic, those flight attendants work their butts off! I also heard many comments from other passengers..all great! As for their ” failure/ success rate” You absolutley have NO IDEA what your talking about, we in the airlines industry get the numbers monthy…and your sadly mistaken, if anything Skybus is making leaps and bounds and is changing the world in air travel as we all used to know it…good work Skybus , and I’m not ashamed to say that!!!
Land Rover:
I know you may be pissed off, but you have to get your facts straight. A flight attendant is required for every 50 SEATS, not passengers. So even if there’s one passenger on a plane that holds 150, 3 flight attendants are still required by the FAA. Skybus is required to follow the same stringent rules as any other major airline. Most airlines don’t keep reserve flight attendants away from their hubs, so I doubt that your situation could’ve been easily solved had you been flying on any other airline.
If you fly a low cost carrier, READ the rules (actually this goes for anything, whether you’re flying a low cost airline or a major airline). There’s nothing more annoying than when people are “demanding” things that they are not entitled to. When people know what to expect, they are not dissapointed. However, most people will not read the rules and then bitch and complain when they are “wronged”.
Finally, has it ocurred to you that the reason why you can’t find those $10 seats is because at least 10 people beat you to them? As you may know, you’re not the only person out there looking for these seats, especially on a high demand route. People are literally sitting by the computers waiting for the precise moment when these tickets go on sale to grab them.
Be grateful that you have a low cost option from Columbus. Even if your first experience was not good, give Skybus a second chance again and be INFORMED. If I was going to dismiss every airline that has ever “wronged” me, I would be driving everywhere! If you fly frequently enough, sooner or later you will run into some flight from hell at any airline. Keeping Skybus alive will help to keep rates low across the board. Bashing Skybus and not flying them will mean only one thing if they go out of business: WAY higher rates the next time you try to find a “cheap” ticket from Columbus. (and those $750 that you paid will become the norm)…
I was one of the 10 people who scored the $10.00 tickets for a flight to Burbank in October. I was also there to witness the people who got to watch a empty Skybus taxi away due to a flight attendant having a NOSEBLEED. True, I do not know how serious of a nosebleed she had, but to cancel the whole flight is retarded. The skybus employees who show up at the ticket counter 20 minutes before the scheduled take-0ff time are USELESS!!!. Let me say that again, THEY ARE TOTALLY USELESS. The flight attendants are a bunch of immature, only slightly attracitve KIDS. If I could give you a piece of advice, WHEN YOU “FLIGHT ATTENDANTS” ARE ON A PLANE THAT LEAVES OHIO AT 6:00 AM, GOING TO BURBANK, DONT F’N WAKE US UP W/ LOUD ASS MUSIC JUST SO YOU CAN TRY TO SELL US YOUR JUNK. WHAT A JOKE!!!
I love these clowns who praise Skybus and attack others who have a complaint. If they experienced what these folks have oh how the story would be different. My favorite comment is Skygirl 01. The 01 must be her IQ as she sounds like a complete moron. Here she flies for a major airline and being major wouldn’t they offer service into BUR via mainline or express? Oh no she buys a ticket on Skybus even tho she probably could have got a pass on another airline. Then states she is impressed by the crew which tells me she gets very impressed when her order is correct at Burger King. Also, she claims that each month information is posted about the success rate of airlines. Hmmm skygirl 01 I am a flight attendant for CO and have been for the past 31 years and I have never seen this so called list. Do enlighten us all and tell us where we can find it. As for your knowledge on Skybus the odds of them making it are nil to none. Way too many complaints for a startup carrier. My guess is in a year they will history. In other words skygirl 01 I have a better shot at dancing with the rockettes at Radio City Music Hall then this garbage airline has at making it. And last but not least I have doubts about your actually being a flight attendant. You flew from CMH to BUR? What airline other then Skybus has a base in CMH? Here’s one you can use just say you commute people are sure to buy that one. My guess is your some wanabe flight attendant who on the day of the interview found she was actually larger then the airplane she’d be flying on. tee hee hee @ skygirl 01
It is true that with any NEW carrier, there are bound to be customer service issues.
I agree that suffering any type of “service failure” causes all kinds of distress (monetary, emotional etc.) however, it is also true that most passengers are not
well informed about the service they are buying. Most people are only focused on the
cheap fare!
I also think that the service failures (to date) should give SkyBus management a moment of reflextion and revisit their marketing policy. Certainly their business model
“Ultra Low Fare Carrier” is setting a new standard in the US. It is not new however in Europe and Asia, but because is new to this country, perhaps a more agressive approach to educating their potential clients, would help minimize the type of negative comments you hear/read about.
Now..I am no marketing guru, but I do believe an educated / well informed passenger is a keeper!!
Go ahead SkyBus…no one said setting new standards would be easy..but you have to try to reach more to your customer base.
CORRECTION:
On my last paragraph, the correct word should read REFLECTION instead of reflextion
I think some of you may need some facts. The reason the flight attendants are so young and immature is the pay! Many are working two jobs. Even with working more than industry standard as far as hours are concerned. The hourly rate is $9 plus a whopping 2.5% commission. The average flight attendant will make aproximatly $9,000 after taxes. There are some flight attendants on food stamps and other tax based subsidies. Nice since the City of Columbus gave Skybus so many tax incentives for bringing substandard paying jobs to the city. Rock on Mayor Mike Coleman!!!! Nice work!!!! The ladies and gentlemen at Skybus work hard give them a little credit!
You will always get what you pay for, they did offer a refund or rescheduling for the next flight, however every passenger thinks that they are the only one’s that need to get home or to their final destination. Lets be real, how can you ask someone to put you up in a hotel or give you a meal voucher when you pay only $10.00 for your ticket. Service coasts money and when you don’t pay for it you will not get it. Do you expect McDonalds to serve their hamburger on fine china and have their tables covered with white table cloths, let’s not forget about the candles. People get real!!! There are usually good reasons why flights get cancelled; I can not imagine an airline cancelling their flight for no reason.
CO Flight Attendant; if your IQ is so much higher, why are you a flight attendant? COA flight attendant qualifications don’t seem to be very high (GED or above). Wait a minute; it is a glamorous and very respectable position and we all want to be flight attendants…….. I don’t mean to disrespect you, but you need to get real too, I understand you might be angry because they are competition to COA and your position but with your high IQ you should not have to worry, or should you? Let’s cut Skybus some slack and give them a chance to work their bugs out, we all learn from our mistakes.
Another thing, if I knew that my commute from point A to point B was very crucial, I would spend extra money and fly maybe COA, because I know in case of a cancellation they will get me home. On the other hand if I just had enough time and wanted to venture out and maybe spend a weekend out of town, I would book with Skybus and take my chances. The price difference between COA and Skybus would be quiet substantial, however I know what to expect from each one of them. I am sure no one would take their wife out to McDonalds for their anniversary dinner and expect fine dining. It all boils down to; you get what you pay for…
Why do we Americans always want our cake and eat it too? People who fly Skybus know the risks — that’s one way they keep their rates so cheap. And yet, if and when they experience a problem, they bitch and complain as if this is news to them. C’mon, people. Learn to take responsibility for the risks that you take. It’s like these people who are now upset that the over-valued price they paid for the home that they wanted so bad at one time is now selling well below what they paid for it, so now they are suing real estate agents claiming they were misled. They weren’t misled at all! Some of our fellow Americans just cannot take responsibility for their actions. They want to fingerpoint and complain — someone HAS to be blamed other than themselves. Skybus is fine. It’s the passengers that have a lot of improvement to face up to.
I am a flight attendant for Skybus. And I think A LOT of people need to get thier facts straight.
I read A LOT of negative blogs about Skybus. And the things people complain about are ridiculous. They are things you will find on ANY OTHER AIRLINE - only you probably spent more on your ticket.
As far as the flight attendants - well, I can verify that we do get paid VERY little for the industry standard, and do not get any perks to boot (ie - free flights on skybus or any other airline, we have to pay full price for food and beverage on board)
And we have to deal with snotty attitude from passengers who want the red carpet treatment.
to Dennis who posted a message on 12-16 and other nasty passengers:
I am a skybus flight attendant, and i think some people need to get their facts striaght. or at least knw some facts before you start talking out of your ass.
I am so sick and tired of dealing with ignorant morons for passengers.
there has to be 1 flight attendant for every 50 seats. and those flight attendants don’t show up at the ticket counter 20 minutes before a flight. we have our own crew room where we have to be AT LEAST an hour before each flight. this is where we do work before we even get on the plane ( and dont get paid for)
and by the way - we only get paid when we are in flight!!!!!!
so the rest of the time, we are just listening to your bitching and complaining and bossing around for free.
what a selfish ass for being so pissed about your plane being grounded because the flight attendant had a nose bleed. gee - way to show some human compassion. I am sure she was having a worse day than you - but i am sure to someone like you, you would have your head too far up your ass to even notice. and no, other airlines dont take other flight attendants with them “just in case”. and we have to be 100% every day in order to take care of ANY situation that arises. sometimes nothing, sometimes drunk people who make threats about having a gun on the plane, and sometimes 9/11.
we dont have the luxery of having a hangover somedays, or feeling under the weather, or tired. if thats the case, then we dont fly and we miss a days pay.
and if you ever have a situation on your plane whre you need medical assistance - why don’t you tell everyone then how useless the flight attendants are.
becuase thats ALL we learn in our 3 month training (like every other airline industry flight attendant) is how to save your ass in an emergency. not to serve it. we dont even learn anything about food service until we are on the plane and your acting like were your damn waiter. we learn everything about the plane - how it flies, the equipment, emergency medical training, self defense….
but this is the kind of thing that noone knows…and i am sick of getting treated like i am a lesser being, or your little servents. passengers dont even think we are human.
when a plane is delayed - its not the flight attendants fault, so stop yelling at us!!
we all have families too we want to go home too. we are just as frustrated as you, but when can we do?
when we run out of food - dont yell at us. were not a restaurant. look around - your on a plane and we have limited space. we dont stock the plane, another company does.
when you fly, there are risks - weather, mechanics, or god forbid not a whole flight crew, because the last time i checked WE are people too!!!! so the next time you fly, bring a book, or write a letter to someone who gives a damn about your petty problems.
Yes a lot of our flight attendants are young, but about the other half is over 30. If anyone wants to question the quality of service well then you need to address it with the people who sign our tiny paychecks. and if your sick of hearing the sales pitch, well, its only becuase we need to eat and pay our bills and thats the only way we make our money.
I would be happy to see you on one of my flights someday - so i can pull your beligerant ass off of it. (we have more power than people think)
** the underestimated flight attendant
(but aren’t all flight attendants underestimated??)
Hi Fly Girl,
I have a fan site for skybus, could you please sign the guestbook?
http://freewebs.com/onlybirdsflycheaper
thanks!
SKY-BUS Yes BUS…. not cadillac, not porsche, not limo…BUS …. Skybus has very clear rules…and if those rules don’t suit you, don’ t pay the $10 bucks to fly them.
Fly Girl,
AMEN!!! I’m a fly girl too. If half these people saw what we deal with on a daily basis. I never knew people could be so damn stupid. But hey when they need us ie; air sick, heart attack, seizure whatever then they look for us to help. But when asked to the littlest things for safety reasons that are set by the FAA not just your “bitchy” flight attemdants they give us shit! When we ask you to put your purse or bag in the overhead bin beacause it’s obstructing the path to the aisle….just do it! I think people need to watch some videos of passengers not getting off an aircraft because they failed to “LISTEN”. They always think ” It won’t happen to me”….think again because it can happen to anyone! Treat your flight attendants with respect, they may just save your life!
DOes anyone have any idea when the August flights will go on sale??
Yes, I will also join the bash Skybus club. I heard about how “low” their roundtrip rates were while planning a trip to Los,Angeles last month from coworkers. I went to the website and checked for the rates on the days I was looking to go(March 15th-22nd 2008) To my utter surprise, I found out it would cost $390 to fly into Burbank from Columbus, Ohio and $290 for my return! How in the hell is almost $700 roundtrip a cheap deal? Give me a break! Its not like I was expecting to fly roundtrip for $10 or even $100, but $700? Why wouldn’t somebody just use a REAL airline for that price? What a joke! I emailed Skybus yesterday about this but from reading these complaints I probably won’t be hearing from them. I will be sure to spread the word about this sham!
Saturday March 15th, arrive 2 hours early to leave on spring break with the 4 kids and wife. All goes well, check in, bags off to where they send them for the fees. Lady hands me the boarding passes back when we check in and says “oh by the way, your flight is delayed 2 hours- fog” I asked, its 2 in the afternoon where all the airlines delayed? Her quick polite response “do you think I’m lying to you?” Things are not looking good- I haven’t heard a good thing about this airline from anyone who has used it but certainly this wouldn’t happen to us. We get down to the corral at 2:15 and there is one plane there, it loads and leaves for somewhere. About 6pm (close to the delay time being over and our plane arriving the lady gets on the loudspeaker and says our plan is coming from Milwaukee and will be just a little late. Maybe 1 hour. Meanwhile the people that are waiting for the Fort Myers flight who have been delayed since 1pm are mounting a fight with the people that are on the 8pm flight to Ft Myers (yes they actually were going to let the 8pm people go on time and make the delayed Fort Myers people wait. Well as soon as they figured a small civil war was about to break out they finally told the 8 pm Fort Myers people they were basicall screwed and come back in the morning. Can you imagine that by now some 10 or more flights were supposed to leave, only one so far- there are close to 1000 people with their kids down in the Skybus hole starting to go crazy. There were enought people to start a city. Anyway our plan is coming in soon, it’s hot and the kids have been pretty good so far, but we are outta here- then the lady gets back up to the microphone and lets us know that our plane is now coming from Burbank California and should be in around 10pm, only one problem- we can leave if they can find a flight crew- ????? What ????? now I’m hot, like what happened to the crew from the 4 pm flight so I went up and asked, the response ” get out of my face or I’m calling the police” I said this is “f…king crazy” she then said one more comment and they are calling in the bomb squad or something- some lady came in from outside and told everyone they could get a refund, just go upstairs to the kiosk and get it. We opted for that, asked how to get our luggage they said they would find it and it would be at the luggage carousel- we decided to drive to Florida in a rental car- they did find our luggage, the lady from Skybus that was working down there was actually very helpful, understanding, and polite. She made one comment, she said she was told in training to not be nice and if a customer got on her to yell right back at them- not cool. We made it to Florida and recieved an email saying they had changed our California flights in May to a different day- we got the refund- This is the biggest joke I have ever seen, ever. Skybus sucks. Someone made the comment growing pains- these people don’t have a clue about what goes on, and they don’t care- what happens when someone overlooks some safety issue because they have had angry customers up their ass all day and doesnt do their job? Do they pound a plane full of yours and my friends into the ground? This can’t be safe—— fly at your own risk, no more Skybus for my wife, 4 daughters, and me.
Skybus changed dates and times on a four leg journey that 3 confirmation numbers because I screwed up. We were notified by Skybus of these changes except for one of the confirmation numbers. They claim they are refunding money but have not yet recieived it. As to the 3rd confirmation, I have been trying for a week to get an email response to no avail. This morning I called the CEO’s office and actually reached a human being. She was quite pleasant and promptly agreed to refund the money although I have received no confirmation of that. To get a human at Skybus call the CEO’s (Bill Diffenderffer) office at (614) 947-3103.
Consumer Help:
From Clark Howard’s website
Department of Transportation -
Federal Aviation Administration
Consumer Hotline - 800-FAA-SURE
Security or safety complaints - 800-322-7873
DOT Aviation Consumer Protection Division (ACPD)
For complaints about air travel service - 202-366-2220
Or write to: Aviation Consumer Protection Division
US Department of Transportation
Room 4107, C-75
Washington, DC 20590
FloridaDept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services
For Florida problems only:
In Florida - 800-435-7352
Outside Florida - 850-488-2221
Travel problems - 850-922-2966
Responsible for protecting consumers from unethical sellers of travel. Before contracting with a travel business, call to determine
whether it is registered and if there are any complaints against it.
Or write to:
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How do we find out if a flight is on time before we leave the house?
I am trying to find out if flight PBNUFK has left Portsmouth, NH yet and when it will arrive in Punta Gorda!
So far my dealings with Skybus have been outragious. I booked a Flight from Phily to Greensboro with out problem,$25 but when I tried to book a flight from GB to Ft. Myers $40 it kept timing me out and had to start over,and over,and over, and over. sometimes it would default and change the times and sometimes it wouldn’t. It was so frustrating. I could’t get it to work for any thing It took over 1 1/2 hrs to book it, when reading my email confirmation I realized the date was wrong. Email to customer service was generic after 4 emails I got one stating the web site was ok and I could change my date but would cost me $40 extra. Now this was the firat time I was trying to use Skybus, not a good way to treat a first time customer. I finally after 8 more time out trys got to rebook the reservation. an additional $40
Now my flight cost more then flying another carrier, the airport is 30min further then PHL.
I just got email that they changed thie flight times. Now I don’t know if I will make my 2nd flight, I did have 1 4/5 layover now it is less then 30min. and since I have to check bags 30min before boarding I can’t take any checked bags. All I wanted to do is go to FL for my granddaughters 2nd BD. This will be the last time I do skybus, if I ever get to FL. Maybe the $10 flights that I can screw them if I just don’t show up but never for a cheaper flight that is not really cheaper. The same flight on SWA would have been nonstop and only $74 and I could have taken 2 bags with BD gifts and closer to get to. We will see if I ever get on the plane at all ,due to leave April 23
My entire family has purchased tickets through skybus for memorial day weekend to Myrtle Beach. Has anyone had issues with flights to Myrtle Beach?
Skybus doesn’t fly to Myrtle Beach!
They went out of business tonight - I thought they were great.
Please refer to my 11/29/07 posting. Unfortunately for the skybus employees, I was correct.
As the webmaster for http://Deltalina.com I took my first flight on the LAST day today to Burbank..great fight. Things have changed so much from JetBlues fall from grace to this. You can not plan 3 years down the road in the US Airline industry it appears or maybe its month to month for the future.
My girlfriend and I booked our flight for our honeymoon on Skybus. We think the fact that they have gone out of business is a bad omen so we’ve decided to cancel our wedding. Damn, no wedding and no honeymoon in Phili. Life sucks.
My girlfriend and I booked the flight for our honeymoon on Skybus. We think that its a bad omen now that they’ve gone out of business so we decided to cancel our wedding. Damn, no wedding and no honeymoon in Phili. Lfe sucks!
I just sent my parents to NC to go to a funeral and they are suppose to come back on tuesday 8th, now they can’t and i cant get in contact with anyone to get my money back so that i can book another airline to get my parents back home. Their stranded!
I knew this was going to happen! I flew on them once; a nightmare! I never flew on a more unprofessional airline!
Thank you Skybus, you did try hard. I have flown about every carrier out there in the U.S., Europe and Asia in my 25+ year career in my business.
I recently went to Boston with my girlfriend and we chose Skybus. We weren’t that thrilled with the flight times, but we wanted to visit Boston again and so we did on Skybus from Greensboro.
We paid about $130.00 for each roundtrip, but that was still much lower than with any other airline. Skybus left on time on both flights and did what they promised. I knew what I had to expect from educating myself on their website. The flight crew was very professional and everything went like it should. It was a wonderful experience and we had a great weekend.
Thank you Skybus. I am sorry to hear it did not work out, but if you come back, I will be back as your customer.
Land Rover
Referring to your Nov. comment. Of course since you “know it all”. Maybe you should have taken over the company, since you just knew they would fail. Maybe they would still be in service, since “you” can control the price of oil, and the economy that’s drastically effecting everyone and every airline. Yes, I say every airline. That’s why so many restrictions on luggage, air fares etc. are rising. And oil prices are the reason that Skybus is no longer flying. So back to your comment from November. NO WHERE did you state that oil prices would cause the airline to shut down. The food and customer service issues where improving and fixed. Like any new company, there is growing pains and issues that don’t arise on paper, so when issues appear you fix them. No it may not be fixed over night, but I definitely saw the company growing into a respectable airline, from my first flight to my 10th flight. I flew with them quite a bit, over the last 5 months. It is a terrible shame. Do you understand the impact this shut down has created? In CMH and GOS (greensboro) 450 lost their jobs, Not to even mention these smaller airports that SKybus created 100’s of jobs for , and the surrounding communities that Skybus was bringing revenue to through they’re passengers. The first time flyer’s, that can’t afford other airlines, the families with 5-6 people, where other airlines just don’t offer cheap airfares. I don’t care what you say, US AIR is not as cheap…unless you change planes 3 times to reach your destination. Everyone brags about SW…I have only experienced rude, nasty ticket agents and flight attendants, and I’ve flown them at least 10+ times.
So it is a sad sad day, not just for SKybus, but for all involved, and anybody who wishes for our economy to improve, especially Columbus. So mister Land Rover keep your nasty, negative ” I told you so ” attitude to yourself” and remember what goes around, comes around!
I am not surprised at all that this occurred. Skybus contracted out (outsourced) its entire operations and had no control over quality. The ticket counter and gate staff at Westover Metropolitan Airport (a great place) were from QuickFlight, and they left a bit to be desired.
As for Greensboro, NC — my girlfriend was treated awfully by some Delta (DALServices) contractors working the Skybus counter a couple weeks ago. They openly mocked her and other customers. They refused to call a manager when asked. The manager was notified in person by us and was on the verge of a mass firing. It was clear that she knew what was going on and her employees were just kids with an attitude problem. I mean, what airline worker calls a 21 year old woman a “girl” and does so while chewing gum? They screwed up our reservations and then didn’t offer us another flight until the manager got involved. The counter ladies just went “oh, well, you can’t board the plane so just rent a car or something. We can’t rebook you on another flight from here. You need to find a computer with internet to do that.” Are you serious? These Skybus fools didn’t even have a way to take more of our money. Your average 7-11 was decades ahead of their systems.
Bill Diffenderfer always looked like a hipster-wannabe yuppie who just couldn’t pull it off. Selling tickets moments before closing down? Sounds like the work of a kamakaze, not a “samurai”. I hope he really is going to write books again, because the story behind this one is probably pretty good. I’d love to know how they squandered $160 so fast.
we bought that several tickets from Skybus for April and June and were told by the Banks its a long road to get our money back , has anyone contacted the atty General in Ohio your home state , maybe these CEOS cant hide behind the corporate shield for CRIMINAL behavior , , Its a thought
SKYBUS SCREWED ME!
I had booked flights and hotels to take my familey to Florida for school vacation with SKYBUS. I even bought travel insurance tru them with AIG insurance company in case something happed.
I have saved 10 years to be able to afford this Vacation
you may have heard. SKYBUS went Bankrupt.
I just called AIG Insurance and tell tell me that the insurance policy I paid for will not cover SKYBUS going out of business.
My wife is Pissed, My kid is heartbroken and I am wicked Pissed and Broke. I paid my credit card bill already and SKY BUS STOLE MY MONEY.
SKYBUS SCREWED ME!
Anybody know a good Lawyer that works on Commission
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I would suggest calling your credit card company directly, not just talking to your bank. The Visa and MasterCard networks both have customer service that is a little hard to reach but definitely worth a call. Be aware that Skybus did not keep funds in escrow, unlike charters.
No lawyer will work on contingency for this matter. It is way too much effort for far too little reward. You would likely need to involve federal bankruptcy courts, which is $400/hr territory.
Yes, Skybus pulled a scumbag move at the end. The honorable thing to do would have been to refund all tickets and run for another 96 hours to give people lead time for other arrangements. Pilots and other staff might have walked, but it’s better to be working at 50% than at 0%. The investors, like Fidelity, clearly didn’t want to lose another dollar. They saw this as the best way to stanch the bleeding. Bill inDifferenter is not going to be trusted by many consumers if he gets involved in anything else. Maybe it wasn’t his fault, but he was the public face of the company and he owed consumers some honesty towards the end.
Actually SX did the honorable thing. After determining there was a significant revision in their revenue projections, they sourced additional capital. Money was being lined up, but when the largest player had second thoughts and pulled out, the only answer was to preserve remaining cash for creditors and passengers, with anything left going to the investors. They could have run the company dry, but chose to honor their debts. Creditors should be repaid and passengers can obtain refunds from their credit card companies as they (the credit card companies) held cash in reserves for every flight paid for but not flown. True. Shame on any credit card company that doesn’t refund passenger tickets as SX never had use of the funds. People knowledgeable in the airline or credit card industry will back this up. I commend them for trying. Their timing was awful, but without $108 oil and a severe economic slump, these guys would have made it.
Inside Air
Thank You so much for finally putting some true information out there to these people who constantly speculate on why Skybus failed. Everyone thinks they know it all. Apparently you were an inside source.
You complainers out there, I don’t think you realize just what an impact this shut down will cause the city of Columbus, not to mention the areas they flew. But I guess the economy doesn’t effect the “complainers”.
Skybus we will miss you!!
I read your comments and I just wanted to say that my wife, my 20 month old daughter and myself flew to Greensboro NC in feb. We had no problems at all. All the employees were very nice and helpfull.
I am extremely upset! My family is dumb enough to trust a noob company like Skybus with several tickets for a family reunion deal in NC, even after every other lame, inexpensive, “fly-by-night” airline company screwed them in the past. Do you remember ValueJet? I guess they went out of business after their craft went down in my home state of Florida.
I wasn’t even going on the trip, but now I feel obligated to help my mom get her money back (good luck is what I’m hearing). She couldn’t figure out how to book the flight, so I went on her computer and did it for her via a Debit card. It was only a couple of days ago!!!! And this is just unfortunate, now more than ever with our economy like this.
Like my friend Stan says, I guess we’re all doing “deep knee bends in the cucumber patch” or “giving open-mouthed facial head butts to the groin region”. Thanks for listening to my rant, I feel a lot better, like Lewis Black or some other comedian ranting about something, knowing that nothing will come of it (like my money back).
i had also had tickets through skybus. who is obvisiously out now .if there anyway to get my money back besides through the credit card company let me know.SKYBUS SCREWED ALOT OF PEOPLE BUT AT LEAST THEY FILED BK AND HAVE SOME WHAT OF A REASON AIG TRAVEL INSURANCE IS STILL IN BUISNESS BUT IS STILL SCREWING PEOPLE AS FAR AS I AM CONCERED BY NOT PAY FOR THE SKYBUS AIR TICKETS IBELIEVE THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT OF TRAVEL INSURANCE
AIG will refund your premiums. just go to their website. Your bank or credit card company can dispute the charges. It is as easy as that. You will get your money back
I was a Skybus customer in the past and LOVED them. Roomy planes, nice people, great fares.
I too had a future ticket paid for and was very upset when I received the call from my family in Ohio that it had stopped flying.
My credit card company took my info and told me a decision would be made within 3-4 weeks RE: refund. I believe AMEX will make good on the money.
I would fly Skybus again if they could work out their financial problems.
I am still waiting for my $1066.00 for tickets to my daughter’s wedding, who also was a Skybus attendant. I bought the tickets on the 4th of April, and they closed their doors on the 5th of April. Do you think they knew? I do. They filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, after closing the doors on Friday. It takes a little time to prepare documents to file in federal court. Needless to say I should have stayed with Southwest. I have travelled with them for years and have never had such problems.