Missed the word "late"... Was wondering how an arrival would be disgusting. Reading too fast I guess. On 6/10/07, Reagan Dupont <hotornotcollege@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=3D/20070610/NEWSREC0= 101/70609013/1005/NEWSREC0101 > > Article published Jun 10, 2007 > > Skybus: Cheap, savvy and roomy > > By Richard M. Barron, Staff Writer > > COLUMBUS, Ohio =97 Skybus flight attendants look like > rock 'n' roll roadies in their black T-shirts, black > pants and sneakers. > > It's fitting because Skybus carries the personalities > you might find in a cantankerous rock band: squirmy > children, high-spirited young adults and veterans > enduring one more day on the road. > > Skybus is grabbing this mix of bargain hunters and > casual travelers at Piedmont Triad International > Airport with cheap fares of $10 and up. > > "We want to get people off the couch, out of the car > and fly with us," said Ken Gile , the airline's > president and chief operating officer , wearing a > casual shirt in the airline's modest headquarters near > Port Columbus International Airport. > > The airline has its limits: All flights lead to its > home base in Columbus, and no flights are designed > specifically to connect to other cities. > > But with creativity or an overnight stay, you could > fly from PTI to Columbus and hop another discount > flight to Oakland, Calif., or Portsmouth, N.H. > > PTI desperately needs the passengers attracted by > these great prices. The number of passengers flying > out of the airport dropped by 28 percent for the first > four months of 2007 compared with the first four > months of 2006. > > So Skybus offers a glimmer of hope. > > At PTI, it's clear the airline is drawing various > passengers and more families who would not have been > there without Skybus. > > Roger Dalton , for example, drove 45 minutes from > Martinsville, Va., to catch Tuesday's Skybus flight to > Columbus to pick up his daughter, Stacy Woody . She > just wrapped up her freshman year at Ohio State > University. > > Dalton, 51 and on disability, is watching every dime, > so the $90 fare he paid is far better than the $300 he > paid to another airline to fly there last year. And if > the airline succeeds, he said, he might buy more > tickets. > > "I have an aunt up in Toledo I haven't seen in years," > he said, waiting for the flight. "It'd be nice for me > to get some tickets for me and my mother and go up to > see her." > > A News & Record reporter flew to Columbus last Tuesday > and returned Wednesday. The flights cost $10 each =97 a > $38 round trip with fees and taxes. > > Skybus is not your ordinary airline. > > Planes have no first-class seats. Passengers can pay > $10 for early boarding, or they can wait for the > all-aboard call. > > Passengers can check two bags at $5 each or haul them > downstairs at PTI and across the tarmac to climb steps > to the plane. > > The large Airbus A319 is a spacious, almost new plane. > It has tall, bright ceilings and large storage bins > above 156 leather seats. > > On Tuesday, the airplane's nonreserved seating seemed > to make loading quicker, as passengers weren't > searching for specific seats and struggling with bins, > although the flight appeared to be only two-thirds > full. > > Skybus keeps tight schedules so it can fly to 11 > destinations daily with just four planes. The goal is > to turn a plane around in 25 minutes , Gile said. > > A hitch in that schedule can bring cascading delays. > > The flights to Columbus and back to Greensboro were > each delayed an hour because of mechanical trouble in > Bellingham, Wash., where the planes fly earlier in the > day. > > Skybus is adding more destinations from Columbus, and > PTI travelers will be tempted to try to connect with > those flights, especially if they can be boarded in > the same evening that the PTI flight lands at 7:16. > > Just be aware, Gile said, that the airline won't hold > flights for late passengers. > > If you are significantly late from PTI, it's bon > voyage to the other plane. > > Even the airline's inaugural flight to PTI was delayed > by three hours on May 22 . > > "Safety is paramount to us, even if it's an inaugural > flight and all the newspapers are waiting for us," > Gile said. > > Entertainment on the flight is strictly self-provided. > There is no snappy video or headphone entertainment. > > Hungry? Some may bristle at the fact that Skybus > doesn't offer even a free soda. But many full-price > airlines don't offer anything but a soda. > > Ten dollars can buy you a cold sandwich lunch or a > warm dinner. > > The quick flight from Greensboro to Columbus, with its > low price, is more than enough to pull Tim Check , of > Burlington, out of his car. > > Check, 50 , recently accepted a job at Telesis > Technologies near Columbus, but his home and family > remain in Burlington . > > "Normally I drive," he said at the gate. "Driving is > better because I can leave work whenever I want to." > > But with gas prices up and the price of an airline > ticket to Columbus down, he's a convert to Skybus. > > All it took was one flight, even a late one, for > Dalton to be sold. The late arrival was "a little > disgusting," he said, but "I've had worse." > > "That's real great to be able to afford this," Dalton > said, "putting a child through school." > > Last Christmas, he said, his daughter spent $400 > flying home on vacation. "I'm hoping this year we can > fly her home for under $100." > > Contact Richard M. Barron at 373-7371 or > dbarron@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > > Copyright (c) 2007 > The News & Record and Landmark Communications, Inc. > > > > > > > _________________________________________________________________________= ___________ > Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car > Finder tool. > http://autos.yahoo.com/carfinder/ > > > <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>= >>>>> > > If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail > to: > "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". 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