A new airline start-up is bringing an interesting business model to our inefficient airline industry.

Skybus is the newest low-cost carrier that is trying to find out what you’ll pay for and what you won’t, when traveling by air. In essence, they make you pay for everything.

Skybus Airlines will make its inaugural flight on Tuesday, jumping into the cash poor industry of low-cost air travel. The company has plans to fly to 25 cities from its Columbus hub, in an effort to compete with Southwest and other no-frills airlines.

What do you mean by low-cost?

Ten bucks for a ticket! Each Skybus flight will offer at least 10 tickets for $10 each. Then you can upgrade by purchasing features, like priority boarding, for example for an additional charge.

Skybus will offer first-come, first-served boarding much like Southwest, so the priority feature does actually give you something for your money.

Once on board, you will be able to buy food, beverages and other items, although the prices are not exactly “low-cost”. Soft drinks sell for $2, most of the beer and wine selection goes for $5 and a variety of snacks and meals are available — the most expensive costing $10.

The company’s web site asks that travelers not bring their own food or drinks, which in my opinion is a bit stingy, and makes it more evident that they’re trying to generate essential operating cash flow from non-essential services.

I’m not sure what fate Skybus will hold, and I like bits and pieces of their business plan, however I think there are large holes that will keep them from being competitive.

Skybus is serving outskirt destinations in hopes that travelers will “get close” by air for cheap, and then drive the last thirty miles. While I can understand the philosophy, I’m not sure the theory will prove fruitful.

Most travelers want to get to where they’re going, and time is of the essence. Business travelers, for instance, probably will see this as more of a hassle, as time is money.

I give Skybus a 3 in 10 chance of surviving the first year in business, but I could be wrong.

What say you?

If you were to go on a personal vacation, would you pay pennies on the dollar to fly and come up short, knowing you’d have to drive an hour or so to get you the rest of the way to your destination?

What if you were on business?

Additional Links
Skybus Rules of Flying
Careers
The Skybus Story

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