Sky Bus Review

I felt the need to write this review because there's a lot of buzz about Skybus, some positive, and some negative but I wanted to give my "first hand account" of my travel experience. A few weeks ago, I decided to book a flight on Skybus (partly as an experiment, partly because I needed to go to Columbus).

 My two options were to fly from the Atlanta Airport on Delta (20 minutes away), or fly from the Chattanooga Airport on Skybus (1hr 15 minutes away).

The airfare on Delta was $280. On Skybus, it was $76, so I selected Skybus. I booked on the skybus website (www. skybus. com) and printed my boarding pass the night before the trip. I was assigned to Boarding Group 2.

 As I started driving, I began wondering if the savings would be worth the extra 55 minute drive. But upon arriving at the Chattanooga airport, I realized that it was more than worth it. First of all, I parked my car right in front of the terminal. Literally, within 2 minutes of locking my car, I was placing my bag on the x-ray machine at the security checkpoint. A few minutes later, I was sitting at the gate with way too much time to spare.  I then realized that the extra 55 minutes on the road leisurely driving north on I-75 were much more enjoyable than the extra time I would've needed to drive south on the I-285 loop in the middle of Friday afternoon traffic, park remotely at the ATL airport, wait for the shuttle, head to the MASSIVE security checkpoint (usually with waits of more than 30-45 minutes), take the underground train to my terminal and find my gate and flight among hundreds and hundreds of other gates and flights

 By the way, the Chattanooga Airport has free Wi-Fi so I was able to log on completely free of charge while I waited for my flight. I was listening to fellow passengers at the gate area. It seemed like the carefree attitude that Skybus has spills into their passengers. Lots of socializing, and laughter. Most people were talking about how they learned about Skybus, or where they were from. A man was with his 5 year old son taking him for a plane ride because the tickets were so low. Two lady friends were having a good ol' time headed up to Columbus to visit one's son. A couple of business people had their heads buried in their laptop computers. There were several college students sporting OSU sweatshirts or hats. Definitely not the "Mind your own business" crowd normally found these days when traveling. Overall, it was a nice mix of passengers, I would say that the plane was maybe about 60%-70% full looking at the number of passengers at the gate.

My flight was scheduled to depart at 6:28pm, and around 6:05pm, I started to wonder if we'd be on time since the plane hadn't even landed yet. There are no agents at the gate so there's no way to just walk up and ask (this is probably the only thing that bothered me, but I had read about it on their website so I was prepared for it). A few minutes later, the ramp came alive with ground personnel moving into position as the bright orange airplane touched down and headed for the gate. Even though there are jetways at the airport, Skybus uses ramp style stairs to load passengers (one on the front door, one on the back). The gate agent finally showed up and said "Ok, we're going to get this plane off the ground in 12 minutes" I was like "yeah right". It was an amazing process to watch. Arriving passengers got off the plane using the front stairs. Departing passengers boarded the plane using the rear stairs simultaneously. The rampers were loading bags as quickly as possible. Everybody was very animated. The gate agent didn't lie! We were literally strapped in our seats and ready for departure right at 6:28pm!

The onboard experience: My first impression as I boarded the plane: NICE. Brand new airplane smell. The seats initially look a bit thin, but once you sit down, you realize that they are actually super nice and comfortable, with gray leather surfaces. The tray table has the name of the seat manufacturer on it: Recaro (these are NOT cheap seats. They are designer seats!). Even though these airplanes have more seats than other Airbus 319's, the design of these seats gives more space (they are thinner, no seatback pocket, and an indentation where your legs go, giving you just as much legroom at 29' pitch as more inefficient seat designs at 31' pitch). The flight attendants were all very young, super friendly and attractive. Casual is the name of the game here. No fancy and glamorous flight attendant uniforms! They wear black pants with long sleeve black t-shirts with some design and the Skybus logo in bright orange. The pilots wear a somewhat more relaxed uniform than traditional airlines as well. Still recognizable as the pilots (with wings, epaulettes, and tie) but the pants and shirts are khaki (with bomber style leather jackets and no pilot hats). By the way, It's been a while since the last time I felt like a flight attendant was genuinely happy to welcome me onboard! I did feel that way on this flight!

As we taxied out to the runway, the pilot made an announcement: "We're #1 for takeoff". Some passengers actually chuckled. Of course we're #1, this is Chattanooga, not Atlanta! Within 5 minutes of leaving the gate we were airborne and on our way to Columbus!

 The flight was short (less than 1 hour of flight time). The only form of entertainment is a "Fly n' Shop" magazine. Similar to the Sky Mall magazine found on almost every airline these days, but whatever you purchase is available right there on the airplane. The flight attendants had enough time to conduct a beverage service for the entire airplane and be fun while at it. (they split a 10% commission on all sales onboard, so that might influence this friendly attitude). Most people were purchasing beverages with an ocassional sandwich (me included). Mine was a turkey sandwich with a chocolate chip cookie and some grapes. All for $10. After that, the flight attendants made an announcement that they would be going down the aisle with the shopping cart. I didn't purchase anything from here, but I was tempted to look at a few items that I saw on the magazine. Most items looked nice, and I actually found things that I would've probably purchased had I been in the mood to shop(cologne, sunglasses, beef jerky, airplane shaped kid's backpack). By the way, you can purchase items with your credit card.

Before long, we were on the ground in Columbus. The same style ramps are used to offload passengers in Columbus. It was snowing so I was wondering how efficiently we would be able to get off the airplane. Apparently nobody likes to stand in the snow for very long because people were actually moving much more quickly to get inside the terminal. Once inside the terminal, I saw the passengers already lined up for the next flight out (Going to Gulfport/Biloxi, or as Skybus advertises it, New Orleans). A few minutes later I was outside waiting for my taxi cab to the hotel, feeling refreshed and actually happy about my decision to try something different.

The return flight was almost identical but in reverse. Upon arriving in Chattanooga 2 days later, It took me a total of 3-4 minutes from the moment I walked off the airplane until I was sitting in my car (by the way, the battery of my car was dead. Another awesome thing about traveling from a small airport is that I went back inside and I spoke to a security agent who immediately brought a car jumper/battery charger kit so I was able to solve my dilemma in a few minutes).

Overall, it was an awesome experience. Even adding the extras (like extra gas to get to Chattanooga, the sandwich and drinks onboard) I still spent much,much less than what I would've spent on a traditional flight. I arrived refreshed, (not tired, cranky or anxious as when I'm going through the Atlanta airport).

 I'm going to point out some of the negatives, because even though it was a great experience, I want  for everyone to be aware of some things:

- READ everything on the website. It's a different kind of airline, so you should NOT expect the same level of customer service or compensation should your travel plans change. If you inform yourself, you'll be much happier than if you assume that everything will be handled the same way that a traditional carrier would handle things. If your flights are cancelled, you will have the option of going on the next flight available (usually the next day) or get a 100% refund. However don't expect to be moved to another airline. Low cost carriers don't have interline agreements.

- NO jetways. It wasn't as bad as when you're traveling on a small regional jet where you have to climb stairs, but it's not as convenient as using a jetway.

- Destinations are limited. Right now, they don't have tons of flights, so you must be flexible. For example, flying from Chattanooga to California will require an overnight stay in Columbus on the way there, but not on the way back. You must purchase each leg individually, but even adding everything up still comes up to less money than flying a traditional carrier.

 - The $10 tickets go FAST but they do exist. Be ready to make your reservations as soon as tickets go on sale. I received the email from Skybus this morning saying that June and July are now open for sale. I went on their website to look for flights to Ft. Lauderdale. I could only find $10 seats in late July. I closed the site and came back 30 minutes later and the $10 seats were all gone!! I guess I'm not the only one looking for a bargain!! If you snooze, you loose!

- At the airport, almost everything you need is right at your fingertips at one of the self-serve kiosks (they have some right at the gate as well as the ticket counters). But be VERY aware that there are no humans to talk to most of the time, or even a 800 number to call. As I mentioned before, the fact that I knew about this before I went to the airport, kept me calm because I knew what to expect.

- Luggage. Checked luggage will cost you $5 per bag. However, considering that United (with other majors to follow) will now start charging $25 for any bag besides the first one, $5 seems like a bargain!

For $76 vs. $280, I'll take my "chances" with Skybus. It will definitely allow me to travel way more often than I would've in the past. I wish them all the best, and although they are brand new and trying to prove themselves, I hope that they keep growing and improving. I know that as more people learn what this airline is all about, they will truly embrace them!