skybus

Does anyone besides me think the skybus business model will fail simply because there is a level of service which Americans will not tolerate no matter how low the prices are?

I mean, talk about crapping on your customers!
 
The public won't give a rat's red patootie about having to buy this or that on board. What they will not tolerate is a reputation for broken aircraft, lost reservations, mishandled bags, or rude customer service.

If people believe that they can buy a Skybus ticket, check bags, and arrive at the destination on the ticket at the time it says, with bags there ontime and intact with a minimum of abuse from the employees, Skybus will suceed.

I don't think Skybus will succeed.
 
calcapt said:
I saw Ron Jeremy in the airport terminal a couple years ago and was going to shake his hand but thought better of it for several obvious reasons. How do you recognize Ron Jeremy without everyone else around knowing how you know him? Of course if they too recognize him.....well, you get the idea. I wonder how many women he has "entertained" over the years?
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I did, in fact, do this very thing. Met him in a hotel lobby in Austin.

Really nice guy - well-educated too.
 
CapnJim said:
The public won't give a rat's red patootie about having to buy this or that on board. What they will not tolerate is a reputation for broken aircraft, lost reservations, mishandled bags, or rude customer service.
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Northwest would argue that fact. They do all that, and people still continue to fly them. :)
 
calcapt said:
I guess those are valid reasons to some. A short sided view in my opinion but, it is their decision. It will be sad when these guys are looking for work in the future and must confess their Skybus sins. It can be a brutal industry for those types. Thanks for the insight...
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Who would these scabs have to confess their "skybus sins" to? It seems like the management wouldn't care if they are a scab because they probably feel like they can step on that guy more than someone who won't put up with that kind of crap.

also I appreciate the battle everyone got into in this thread. It was entertaining(especially with all the different variations of SCAB) but mostly educational.
 
kellwolf said:
Skybus' business model is to charge rock bottom and then charge again for the extras. SWA still gives drinks, food, etc for free on their plane. They'll also let you bring your own food on board. Skybus does neither of those. Southwest will let you check bags and carry-ons for free. Not Skybus. Just b/c the ticket prices are cheap doesn't mean the business models are comparable. Skybus is going off of Ryanair's model in Europe, which is a different consumer mindset than America. I honestly don't think Skybus is gonna be around for long, especially when a passenger gets off and says "Wait, this isn't Vancouver! Where am I?"
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I gotta say. When I'm paying for a flight, i can care less about the food I eat or what I drink. the cheaper for me better.... but thats how I see it. If someone is going to cut the cost by not offering those things to me (and making them optional by paying extra) it works for me! I think its a very good idea.

if i pay southwest 200 from here to there and get things offered that I don't need

vs

if I pay skybus 80 from here to there and not pay for things I'm not going to use anyways

who would be the winner?

you also get what you pay for.... if you pay 80 dollars, expect 80 dollar service. however, mind you that you are still in an airbus with an experienced pilot at the controls.... for me, i'm willing to take 80 dollar service so I can save 120...

I bought a ticket to FLL from HOU for monday. Airtran... you know what they do? 7.50 extra for a seat you want (so if you don't py, you get a random seat, which becomes esential to buy if you are traveling with 2 ppl), and 20 extra to get emergency exit row.... what about that? I think its a pretty similar idea
 
taseal said:
I gotta say. When I'm paying for a flight, i can care less about the food I eat or what I drink. the cheaper for me better.... but thats how I see it. If someone is going to cut the cost by not offering those things to me (and making them optional by paying extra) it works for me! I think its a very good idea.

if i pay southwest 200 from here to there and get things offered that I don't need

vs

if I pay skybus 80 from here to there and not pay for things I'm not going to use anyways

who would be the winner?
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I guess to me there's a difference b/w not offering food and having the FA stand at the door making you throw away your McDonald's that you bought in the terminal for the flight. That's what Skybus' policy. NO food unless you buy it on board. That and the FAs are paid on commission. Just what I need. "Are you SURE you don't want this $4 can of Pringles?" b/c her kid needs new shoes.
 
I think the kicker is in this world of $80/barrell oil, they're probably not cutting costs by selling things like snack mix...

Plus, as a professional pilot, I'm more than angry that we're all going to be asked to compete with the lowest common denominator salary-wise.

The new mentality that folks will stand in line for 20 minutes to buy a three dollar cup of poorly-made coffee but think a ticket on a $40 million dollar jet to fly transcon is deleterious to the profession.

It's the "OMG! I got a supercheap toy for my kid"/"OMG! What's the government going to do about lead in my child's toy" crowd.
 
kellwolf said:
I guess to me there's a difference b/w not offering food and having the FA stand at the door making you throw away your McDonald's that you bought in the terminal for the flight. That's what Skybus' policy. NO food unless you buy it on board. That and the FAs are paid on commission. Just what I need. "Are you SURE you don't want this $4 can of Pringles?" b/c her kid needs new shoes.
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yeah, its just to each his own heh...

me being how broke I am, I could care less about anything... if I could find a ticket to fly a 707 to my destination for cheap, i'll take the offer lol

maybe when I have 30-40 grand in my bank, and I don't feel like non revving or anything, I might go for an airline I know that has a name ya know?

I don't know much about the airline besides they have cheap tickets, and ummm thats about it lol. (seing from a passenger POW)
 
taseal said:
me being how broke I am, I could care less about anything... if I could find a ticket to fly a 707 to my destination for cheap, i'll take the offer lol

maybe when I have 30-40 grand in my bank, and I don't feel like non revving or anything, I might go for an airline I know that has a name ya know?
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Here's the problem with that. If airlines like Skybus that pay peanuts become the dominate force, guess what the odds of getting that $30-40K in the bank are gonna be if you're a professional pilot. It's a Catch 22. You wanna save money, but you want the industry to pay well, too. Well, if Skybus knows they can get guys to work for low wages while raking in the dough, guess which one is gonna happen and which one isn't.

Oil is going out of control again, so the airlines turn to the thing they have more control over: labor wages.
 
kellwolf said:
Here's the problem with that. If airlines like Skybus that pay peanuts become the dominate force, guess what the odds of getting that $30-40K in the bank are gonna be if you're a professional pilot. It's a Catch 22. You wanna save money, but you want the industry to pay well, too. Well, if Skybus knows they can get guys to work for low wages while raking in the dough, guess which one is gonna happen and which one isn't.

Oil is going out of control again, so the airlines turn to the thing they have more control over: labor wages.
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problem is, you look at it from a pilot pow, but when you look from a passenger, they really just want the cheapest flight ya know.... (well not all, I don't want to stereotype) but most want cheap flights

Try to look at it like this... all the so called scabs are being filtered out by skybus, adn when they go out of business, they will have all these pilots with bunch of skybus hours which might get blacklisted :)
 
kellwolf said:
You'd be surprised how many pilots are part of the interview process.....
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ahh... gotcha. thats a good thing to know.

Doug Taylor said:
It's the "OMG! I got a supercheap toy for my kid"/"OMG! What's the government going to do about lead in my child's toy" crowd.
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it's crazy how right you are, people always go cheap without expecting what they paid for. I'll even go as far as to see that a lot of people would have complained that the toy was too expensive.
 
taseal said:
problem is, you look at it from a pilot pow, but when you look from a passenger, they really just want the cheapest flight ya know
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This passenger doesn't.

I routinely pay extra to fly out of IAD instead of BWI because I can't stand my fellow pax out of BWI and because it doesn't have a premium passenger line for security which gets me through there quicker.

I routinely pay more to fly United because I get more leg room and get to board first and get upgrades.
 
kellwolf said:
Here's the problem with that. If airlines like Skybus that pay peanuts become the dominate force, guess what the odds of getting that $30-40K in the bank are gonna be if you're a professional pilot. It's a Catch 22. You wanna save money, but you want the industry to pay well, too. Well, if Skybus knows they can get guys to work for low wages while raking in the dough, guess which one is gonna happen and which one isn't.

Oil is going out of control again, so the airlines turn to the thing they have more control over: labor wages.
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Kellwolf you are on fire! That's what I've been thinking for a while now. I hope Skybus doesn't last long. :(
 
The airline business is so incredibly capital intensive that any unforseen problems like weather, mechanical breakdowns or aircraft damage can cost the airline tens of millions of dollars, just ask jetBlue. Skybus has a very limited schedule and relatively few aircraft to absorb any major loss. Any sizable disruption to their business plan will take a lot of $10 tickets to recoup. I personally give them 6 months, and that is being generous.
 
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