Skybus Airlines shuts down, cancels flights

Skybus Airlines, the ultra-low-cost carrier based in Columbus, Ohio, tonight became the third U.S. airline in a week to announce its shutdown, after Hawaii’s Aloha Airlines and Indianapolis-based ATA Airlines. And once again, fliers were left dangling.

“Skybus struggled to overcome the combination of rising jet fuel costs and a slowing economic environment, ” Chief Executive Michael Hodge said in a news release. “These two issues proved to be insurmountable for a new carrier.” Hodge said Friday’s flights would be completed, but that operations would end Saturday. The company, he added, would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday.

Skybus, less than year old, caused a sensation when it started operating May 22, 2007, as a low-fare carrier that charged extra fees for nearly everything. It flew to more than a dozen U.S. cities, including three in California: from Burbank to Columbus and Greensboro, N.C.; from Oakland to Columbus; and, until recently, from San Diego to Columbus.

Skybus’ website advised fliers with reservations for today to check in for their flight at a Skybus kiosk at the airport instead of the on Skybus website. It said customers scheduled to fly Saturday or afterward should contact their credit card companies to apply for refunds.

The Associated Press reported that Skybus pulled the plug less than two weeks after its previous CEO resigned.

—Jane Engle, Assistant Los Angeles Times Travel Editor

[Photo: Skybus Airlines circa 2007. Walt Unks / Winston-Salem Journal / AP]

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Friday, April 4, 2008 at 7:41 pm by Vani Rangachar and is filed under Business Travel, East Coast, Frequent Flier, Los Angeles, Midwestern States, News, Tips & Advice, San Diego. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.