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Anybody else find this odd? (Skybus Airlines)

skoker

skoker

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Aug 6, 2005
1,839
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from http://ask.skybus.com/about/rules-of-flying.shtml :

The Skybus Rules of Flying

(A.K.A. How we keep our tickets so darn cheap.)

1. Don’t pay for everyone else’s baggage.

On Skybus, you pay only for what you check. The first two bags are 5 bucks apiece. After that, it’s $50 a bag (yeah, so pack smartly). Less baggage means faster turnaround and cheaper tickets. Fair deal?

2. Hungry? Thirsty? Bring cash.

Most people love our full cocktail bar and food menu, but if you’re not into that, it won’t cost you a penny. Why should your ticket cost include your neighbor’s dinner? That also goes for blankets and pillows–which, by the way, you get to keep if you buy. Oh, and don’t sneak food onboard unless you brought enough for the whole plane.

3. Bring a book.

We’re not big fans of fancy in-flight entertainment systems. So grab that best seller at the airport, or buy a Sudoku puzzle onboard if you’re feeling brainy. You’ll touch down before you know it.

4. Don’t call us.

We don’t have a phone number. Seriously. We’d love to chat, but those phone banks are expensive. And a good website like skybus.com is even more convenient.

5. Don't be late. We won't wait.

Please arrive no later than 30 minutes before takeoff, or we’ll leave without you. Really. By that time, there won’t even be anyone to check your bag. It’s nothing against you–we just have to keep our flights on time, or things get expensive in a hurry.

6. Don’t expect an army of gate agents.

You probably won’t see any agents at the gate until boarding time. Remain calm! Just print your boarding pass at skybus.com and relish in the savings.

7. Yeah, we’ve got preferred seats. Sort of.

There are no fancy reclining beds onboard, but you can pay 10 bucks extra to board our brand-new A319 airplanes before anyone else.

8. Tickets are nonrefundable.

Refunding a ticket costs everyone, so we don’t allow it. Of course, our tickets are so cheap it wouldn’t have been much of a refund anyway. If you need to change a ticket, your punishment for breaking a date with us is $40.

9. Bigger is not better.

Big airports can be a big pain. We choose less crowded and more convenient secondary airports for better punctuality and, of course, lower prices.

10. No spontaneous dancing in the aisle.

We realize you might be excited about paying a ridiculously low fare, but please refrain from any unbridled dancing onboard. This includes jumping for joy, disruptive cheering, and celebratory break dancing.
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Doesn't that seem a tad crass toward's Customers? Especially the 'no food onboard' rule?
 
haha the only thing I can compare that to is the FAQs that used to be posted on PowderKing.com. They've cleaned them up quite a bit. But they used to be along the lines of:

What is your number?
We used to have a phone, but it was sooo expensive, so we got rid of it.

Can I make a reservation in your hotel?
No, the hotel is first come first serve.

Do you have a shuttle bus?
We used to have a bus, but it hit a moose.

Do you offer a student discount?
We used to offer a student discount, but too many people were abusing it, so we took it away.

We used to visit their website whenever we needed a good laugh, sadly they've cleaned up their facts and no longer have the backwoods talk of the past.

But yeah, those Skybus policies are quite odd, I mean I can understand the "don't pay for what you don't use" idea. But that copy sounds like it was written by a 20 year old for his surf shop.
 
I kind of like it... How cheap are they?
Edit: I just checked them out, if I lived in Columbus I'd love em.
 
If I had a reason to ever go to Columbus I would use them but only after I get over LMAO when I looked at their departure/arrivals from Seattle.
 
Jaffa Cake said:
In addition to the fact that it means they can sell you stuff on the plane, some countries also have rules regarding what foodstuffs can and can't be brought into them by plane passengers.
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This airline is US only, which in that case FAA regulations state you can bring food unto the plane that is purchased AFTER the security checkpoints.
 
When they're selling tickets for $10/each, they need to raise as much cash from ancillary operations as possible in order to make it work. It's a trade-off...if you want the dirt cheap fare, you have to sacrifice some things.
 
mattscott306 said:
This airline is US only, which in that case FAA regulations state you can bring food unto the plane that is purchased AFTER the security checkpoints.
Click to expand...
Fair enough. Since I made my last post though, I remembered that airlines won't serve certain foods if there's a passenger on board with a severe allergy, due to the confined space and lack of ventilation – nuts, that kind of thing. I suppose prohibiting passengers from bringing their own food on cuts out this risk, as the crew will know exactly what food is on the plane.

Of course, as others are saying the main reason will naturally be to rake in as much cash as possible from hungry passengers, but still. ;)
 
I never, ever, listen to any establishment when they say "no outside food or drink".

Ive never had to actually talk my way out of it.

But think about this, if you are diabetic, hypo-glycemic or any of the other myriad of problems that require access to certain kinds of food or water at a moments notice.

How can any commercial venture force you to PAY for something you truly MUST have? Honestly i dont think anyone is going to tell a diabetic, you cant bring your bottle of water and hard candy on here.

This is majorly f-ed up. Im only speaking up cuz I always have 1 gatorade and at least 1 package of snackable food when i fly. Who knows what can happen on an airline trip, delays etc, led me to always carry my OWN food just in case I get hungry.


Oh, and the no phone number? Thats just great when you are stuck in the middle of nowhere (they use smaller airports) with a canceled flight. No one is around to help you (dont expect to see an army of agents). And you arent near any internet ready device. (we dont have a phone)

Ive seen lots of airlines go bankrupt very quickly, what is stopping this one from just closing the website? With no address, no phone number just WHAT do you expect to do?

Dont tell me THIS is the cost of cheap airlines.
 
I once had a small business that was so low-rent, I had to figure out how to market myself creatively, making my lack of anything that would make doing business with me attractive into a strength.

Everything they have in those rules sounds exactly what I put in my flyer. They may be fine, but it honestly sounds like it's a shoestring operation with no cash reserves, and not a lot of baggage to keep them from disappearing suddenly.

"We don't have all those nasty expensive things (that any legitimate business should have serving the market we claim to)"
 
JohnNotBeatle said:
Everything they have in those rules sounds exactly what I put in my flyer. They may be fine, but it honestly sounds like it's a shoestring operation with no cash reserves, and not a lot of baggage to keep them from disappearing suddenly.
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Word is that they're bankrolled with over $160 million from the likes of Fidelity. It's not a ton of money in an expensive industry, but it's more than JetBlue started with, and they were considered well-financed.

It'll be interesting to see if this works. Certainly the ultra-low-fare model has seen success in Europe. There's certainly potential in the US, but you need to have the right strategy, whatever that may be.
 
Well we had Jetsgo up and disappear one day in Canada, no notice to anyone. Left the passengers and the employees out to dry.

I dunno, a $10-$50 ticket for a drunken weekend in vegas? Sure! Sign me up! Heck getting stuck in the middle of ohio would be half the fun!

But if I actually need to be somewhere important? I think I'll go with some one who can answer a phone.
 
dornoforpyros said:
But if I actually need to be somewhere important? I think I'll go with some one who can answer a phone.
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Haha- my company would stick me on a flight with them without hesitation if it saves them a buck. Screw being on time for the sales meeting, we're saving 100 bucks!
 
given time to think about it. i'm happy to see at least the some differential thought is being brought out in the airlines. is a great way to travel, but it has its ups and downs. a new attitude and way of doing things certainly should help everyone 'think outside the box' and make everything overall better. or at least one would hope.
 
Sdashiki said:
This is majorly f-ed up. Im only speaking up cuz I always have 1 gatorade and at least 1 package of snackable food when i fly. Who knows what can happen on an airline trip, delays etc, led me to always carry my OWN food just in case I get hungry.
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Well then go ahead and spend $300 on a ticket on a "conventional airline." I'm perfectly happy with $20 roundtrips and even with a couple of $5 cokes I'll still be way ahead of the game in my book.

PlaceofDis said:
given time to think about it. i'm happy to see at least the some differential thought is being brought out in the airlines. is a great way to travel, but it has its ups and downs. a new attitude and way of doing things certainly should help everyone 'think outside the box' and make everything overall better. or at least one would hope.
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Skybus is a great concept, hands down. Hopefully they can pull things off and make a profit somewhere down the road. They do have one of Ryanair's old executives running things. Although many of their policies are controversial, these policies will get them a whole lot of press and even if it's negative, any publicity is good publicity.


gkarris said:
Fly to a few cities through Columbus, OH - useful....
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Do you really expect a brand new airline to serve 100+ destinations from day one? It's been tried. Ever heard of Independence Air? Anyways, just sit tight, Skybus has 65 aircraft on order.
 
adk said:
Do you really expect a brand new airline to serve 100+ destinations from day one? It's been tried. Ever heard of Independence Air? Anyways, just sit tight, Skybus has 65 aircraft on order.
Click to expand...

Sadly no Atlanta trips planned as they avoid the congested airports (I guess it's not always cool being the busiest airport in the states).
 
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