Air travel deals you should know about

[The Madame X]

http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2007/1 ... t_the.html

You can fly Skybus for 10 bucks - but there's a catch
BY JASON R. RICH

Monday, December 3rd 2007, 4:00 AM
Skybus flies from Stewart Airport to Columbus, Ohio, or Greensboro, N.C., for as little as $10, plus taxes. Gardiner/Bloomberg

Skybus flies from Stewart Airport to Columbus, Ohio, or Greensboro, N.C., for as little as $10, plus taxes.

Air travel for the price of a pizza? It's possible.

Skybus Airlines now offers one-way airline tickets for just $10 (plus taxes), but you won't find these flights departing from major airports.

Instead, in the New York area, you'll have to travel to tiny Stewart Airport in Newburgh, about 55 miles north of Manhattan. And you will also have to be one of the first 10 passengers to book a seat through Skybus' Web site.

For now, the destination choices are few, but Skybus hopes to grow.

New Yorkers have experience helping propel discount airlines, and have made JetBlue an industry force. Companies like Southwest, Spirit and AirTran also offer cheap flights.

And, a few decades ago, thousands of New Yorkers were thrilled by the fare chart of People Express.

But nobody can top Skybus' one-way flight for a sawbuck.

"Our business model is a clone of Southwest Airlines and Ryanair," the Irish carrier, said Skybus CEO Bill Diffenderffer. "We're keeping costs down, but putting a smile on our service."

Bargain fliers can get tipped off to the $10 deals by subscribing to Skybus' e-mail service.

"The e-mail is typically sent at 6 a.m. and, within hours, those low-fare seats are gone," said Mike Hodge, Skybus' chief financial officer.

If you miss out on the $10 fare, you may find a $35 ticket, which is still cheaper than virtually all competitors.

The small airport strategy is one way Skybus keeps fares down.

Planes fly from Stewart only to Skybus' hub in Columbus, Ohio, and to Greensboro, N.C. From Columbus, however, connections can be made to more than 16 destinations.

"We chose to work with smaller airports because our passengers can get in and out of the airports easily, plus it helps to keep our costs down," Diffenderffer said. He added that tarmac time typically is minimal.

The dirt cheap fares have not made everyone a fan. Lou Straney, a retired Wall Street worker now living in Ohio, gave Skybus a thumbs down.

"I was drawn to the airline because of its low prices, although I was never able to find a $10 fare," said Straney, 61. "I wound up paying about the same price as I would have paid with other airlines."

Yet flying Skybus meant driving to an out-of-the-way airport and other inconveniences, Straney said. "In my experience, it's just too unreliable."

Diffenderffer defended Skybus' no-frills approach and lack of free amenities. After all, he said, it's how they keep fares low.

As part of its cost saving moves, passengers have to personally transfer their bags from plane to plane each time there's a layover.

"The trick is to avoid checking luggage so you can walk from one flight to the next," Hodge said.

By the end of this month, Skybus' fleet will number seven planes. The company has ordered 65 new planes from Airbus for 2008 and beyond.

"We plan to expand our offerings in the New York market in terms of where we fly," Hodge said.

[RavenHarte]

Woohooo and airline built for just me, LOLOL Greensboro is about 20 mins from where I live and Stewart is about 20 mins from my Mom in NY. However the route between Greensboro and Stewart is actually not up and running yet. Stewart doesnt even have a Skybus terminal yet... well it didnt over Thanksgiving when I was there picking up my brother - who lives in Ft Lauderdale, another soon to be Skybus hub.

It is being compared to Poeple's Express in all teh article's I've seen and I have to say I basically lived on that airline when it was running, cheap cheap cheap. HOWEVER seriously you just cant expect much though when you fly that cheaply!!! Flights get cancelled due to lack of passengers all the time so if you do this thing, make sure you keep checking your flight info!