Nobus from Skybus
April 5, 2008
Stranded passengers at St. Augustine St. Johns County Airport this morning had not yet received word that Skybus ceased all operations effective Saturday, April 5.
SASJC Airport employees were on the scene of the former Skybus hanger to deliver the bad news to passengers.
The Baker family from Lancaster, OH, south of Columbus, just learned from relatives at around 9:00 p.m. that they would have to make alternate arrangements to return home. Mr. Baker told Historic City Media that he had been able to get a one-way flight on U.S. Air but was having difficulty returning his rental car in St. Augustine and getting transportation for his new flight out of Jacksonville International Airport.
Baker may have been lucky. Since hundreds of passengers coming in and out of St. Augustine find themselves without a flight, other already overbooked airlines are unable to make last minute reservations — and the prices of seats we were able to find were $300 - $900.
Photo credit Historic City Media news reporter: Kerry McGuire
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As with the No-Fly period after 9/11… most passengers affected should book a one way car rental to their destinations, as the most cost efficient solution. Passengers arriving from Europe were still able to fly into Canada and rent cars to their destinations in the US… a time consuming option but the ONLY option at that time.
Skybus passengers will find this a viable solution rather than paying exhorbitant last-minute fares on other carriers.
Gone are the days when other carriers would offer support when a carrier fails to operate.. and Skybus isnt part of that group anyway, the same for Southwest, etc.
Even with the former support of air carriers, it was still incredibly expensive to get to one’s destination in that event. I was unfortunate enough to once find myself in the air during one of Eastern Airlines bankruptcies.. and travelling on an agents ticket afforded me even less options of protection than a regular paying customer.
Days like this one (and I’ve been through far too many) is the exact reason I would never again work for a commercial airline. Having worked for one of the best in the world before, during, and after 9/11… there are more sane ways to earn a living.
A victim of the fuel situation, too bad. Skybus, headed for chapter 11 protection, resulted in many good things happening here, affording our airport the ability to acquire commercial status. That doesnt end with Skybus.
As a veteran of the industry which saw the demise of the super airlines TWA, PanAm, Eastern (twice!), etc…and going through the uncertainty of SARS, 9/11 (when every single american flag carrier was operating under some form of bankruptcy status), and countless other similar situations…myself and those who have been through this all have come to realise they are only temporary hiccups.
Our airport has always had a contingency plan in case something like this happened, and has since had to turn away other carriers wanting to begin service to the North Florida market via St. Augustine. Because of Skybus filling our terminal use to capacity, we werent able to accomodate them. Now, we can.
It may be the end of Skybus (unless they reorganise and emerge from Bankruptcy protection as so many currently operating carriers have done), but it’s not the end of commercial service to St. Augustine by any means.
Skybus press provided incredible exposure for St. Augustine, and the country has begun to finally take notice. We’ll always be indebted to Skybus for that.
So now, we wait for the next announcement of which airline will begin service to St. Augustine - because of the huge success of St. Augustine’s service for Skybus (the St. Augustine market always performed above expectations for Skybus), there are several carriers who want to begin service here now that we can accomodate them.
I would like to see more charter service such as Allegiant, who also used the point to point model after Southwest success. As US Customs prepares to base at St. Augustine Airport, we can now offer handling to Foreign flag charter carriers as an international destination (which has always been my preference.. a la Sanford FL). By the by, aviation fuel in Europe and in the UK is half the cost of US aviation fuel, due to our dollar devaluation against forien currencies.
Next!
My daughter flew in from Columbus on Skybus to visit with me for a week. Her flight back was scheduled for Sunday, April 6th. On Friday, April 4th , we sat together on the computer and planned a visit, then booked tickets for me and my husband to see her in Columbus next month.
The following morning my better half read the news to us that Skybus was out of business and filing Chapter 11. My daughter was beside herself. Now she had to figure out a way home. She found a one-way flight back on Delta with a stop in Atlanta, cutting her trip short by a day. The cost of that flight $350.
Finally, on Sunday, I received an email from Skybus as follows:
“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 will not be processing refunds directly. To arrange for a refund on your reservation, please contact your credit card company directly. If you purchased flight insurance for your reservation, please refer to your insurance confirmation from AIG for information on filing a claim.
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.
We deeply regret the impact this decision will have on our customers, as well as our employees and their families, vendors, suppliers, airport officials and others in the cities in which we have operated. Our financial condition is such that our Board of Directors felt it had no choice but to cease operations.
More information will be made available on the Skybus web site (www.skybus.com).”
Not only did Skybus go out of business but they never let my daughter know until Sunday. If my hubby did not get the news, she would have showed up Sunday and then had to find a way home. They also left the task up to the customers to get their money back. I checked my bank today and the payment was taken. It just does not seem right that Skybus emailed me on Sunday and then took my money on Monday.
Associated Press reported that the founder wanted to rescue the airline.