Turns Out Skybus Might Actually Be Overpriced For What You Get
This past July, I decided to try out Skybus on their run from the "Seattle are", where I live, to Columbus, Ohio, their hub and (as it just so happens) a place I visit several times a year. Now don't get me wrong - I travel a LOT, so I'm used to delays, gruff employees and all manner of shenanigans, and trying out a brand-new airline that had only been flying for two weeks was a bit daunting. But I figured what he hell, I got a great price on two one-way tickets (the only way you CAN buy tickets on Skybust) so I threw in and figured I'd give them a shot.
Booking and ticketing online were simple enough, and I received confirmation emails of both my outbound and return flights, which I printed and took with me to the airport. Oh, yeah, let's mention the airport situation. To save money, it appears that Skybust leases space at outlying airports, not the normal busy (and more convenient) ones closest to a major metro area. So instead of driving to SeaTac for my flight, I had to drive about 90 miles north of Seattle to the Bellingham airport. Wait, Bellingham HAS an airport?? Turns out they do, and it's little more than a general aviation field with minimal passenger hops to places like Vancouver and Spokane, and it has the tiniest little commercial terminal I've ever seen, with one metal detector and manual everything. Quaint, but serviceable, and no complaints there.Yikes. Looks like once you add all the extra fees and mistakes, you'd be better off with a real airline.Having never flown with them before, I did my online homework well in advance. I was therefore well warned by their website that they save money by not having a call center, nor booking agents, nor emails, nor pretty much anything that resembles customer service. You book your flights, you takes your chances. I knew I would be carrying one very heavy bag, so I read the rules - over 50 pounds would incur a $50 fee, and nothing over 75 pounds would be accepted. No problem, I'm used to paying the overweight fee when necessary, but a little voice told me to stuff an empty rucksack in there, just in case - and it's a good thing I did. I printed out my confirmation emails, and make the two-hour drive north.
WHen I got to the Bellingham airport, I was surprised to discover that Skybust doesn't have a desk at the terminal like the other airlines (Delta, Alaska and Horizon). Oh no, their counter is down the walkway, outside, and in a DOUBLE WIDE. I couldn't make this shit up if I tried. So in I went, and discovered two very harried female counter employees fighting with their booking computers. While I attempted to check in with the automated kiosk, I repeatedly heard the Windows reboot sound over and over again...not a good sign. When (of course) the kiosk wouldn't let me check in, I got to the counter and was met by the nastiest, rudest airline employee I'd ever encountered. THis woman was loud, abusive to EVERYONE, and had no patience whatsoever with anything. She mentioned how they were having computer problems and that their tech guys weren't answering their phones. That's when I noticed they didn't actually have "phones" on their counters; instead, the employees were using their own personal cell phones. Ooookay. After they got their computers to boot and register, they went to log me in - and of course couldn't find me in the records. No problem, I had my printout, I showed it to them.
This is where things started to get really interesting. The lovely rude woman insisted that I wasn't on the fllight - not like it's hard to find, Skybust only flies one flight a day out of Bellingham, and that was the one I supposed to be on. She insisted that I wasn't on the flight. When I showed her the printout, she simply shrugged and said, for the first of three times that day, "Sorry, not my problem." Excuse me?? I was so stunned that I didn't have a comeback for that. She just looked at me, mute and smiling, like that answered allt he problems in the world. When I tried to reason with her and show her that I did in fact have a printout with today's date on it, she again said "sorry, not my problem, you're not on the manifest for today's flight. It says here that you were on yesterday's flight." And left it at that. This perplexed me, as I pointed out to her that this would be quite impossible, as the flight back from Columbus was about 90 minutes out, and yet I was STANDING RIGHT HERE. Again with the "sorry, not my problem."
Fortunately for me, a good friend was also flying Skybust that day, and was behind me in line. He put is hand firmly on my shoulder and pulled me gently away, lest I blow any major arteries. The rude lady and I went back and forth until I asked to speak to a supervisor, at which point she said "we don't have any supervisors here, we're all contractors and work independently." Whaaa? Okay, well, how about you get on the phone and call someone? "Sorry, there's no one to call, we don't have a central call center." Well no kidding. SO what, exactly, are we to do about this, I asked? "Oh, I'm not going to do anything," she said, "you're either going to buy a new ticket on today's flight, or you're going to leave right now." Huh, is that so. Okay, fine, how much? $440. This was twice what I'd paid for the round-trip ticket in the first place, but I was in mo more mood to argue, knowing that I'd simply charge this back off my Visa when I got back.
SO the rude lady sold me another ticket to Columbus, then proceeded to go about checking my bags. One came up 71 pounds, as I knew it would, and which she pointed out to me. I was ready for this, and handed her my Visa card. "Oh no, SIR, we won't take any bags over 50 pounds here." Again we danced back and forth about what the website clearly indicated, and what she was telling me, and again with the "sorry, not my problem, no bags over fifty, period. Even if we could, we have no way to charge you for an over-weight fee." Wait, didn't you just take $440 on my Visa? Never mind. Fine. I pulled some bags and packed a third bag, which appeared to make her happy - and allowed her to cheerfully inform me that there would be a $75 third-bag fee! WTF?!? By this point I was just apoplectic about the whole thing, so I allowed ehr to check my bags in utter silence. When she finally finished, she smiled, handed me my ticket and said "here ya go, the door's fifty feet behind me, do try not to miss this flight." Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me.
I seethed for another hour, my friend equally perplexed by this whole thing. Getting on was fine, if unorthodox - no jetways there, just airstairs, and the flight was uneventful as well, other than the "50/50" pot-splitting raffle the flight attendants ran and their incessant peddling of the catalog goods every ten minutes.
But wait, it gets better. While in Columbus, I decided to track down the corporate offices and see if I could speak to a real human being, in person. No dice - I couldn't find them anywhere. SO I went to the Skybust website and sent an email complaint, which was a basic form email page. When I submitted it, along with the full details and full name of the employee, I got a confirmation page that said "Thanks for letting us know about your problem. We may or may not get back to you. Good luck!" Unfuckingbelievable. When the time came to fly out of Columbus, the staff was quite friendly and helpful, and the flight back was equally smooth and uneventful (except another round of in-flight gambling and non-stop commercials.) WHen we landed back in Bellingham, it turned out I was the last person off the plane. As I was walking down the airstairs, I was met by someone coming up - none other that the rude witch who had been so nasty to me when I'd left! I went to move by her and ignore her, but she stopped in my way and said "hey, I remember you! You're the jackass who sent our corporate offices a complaint email about me and demanded I be fired! Well good luck, bucko, you're gonna have to try a lot harder than THAT!" And proceeded to walk by me up into the plane.
This whole thing is for real. I couldn't have made this shit up if I had tried. Not only will I never, ever fly Skybust again, no matter HOW cheap the fares, but I am actively evangelizing against them to everyone and anyone I know from around here. Cheap is one thing, but nasty rude and incompetent is completely uncalled for!
Thanks -
Phil
(Photo:marada)
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Wow. If I was Phil, I would bitch up a storm. If I had treated even the worst customer like that in any of my previous jobs, I would have been fired on the spot.
It's probably not much, but if Phil is out there, he might try some of the contact info on this page: [www.elliott.org]
It looks like he is nowhere near alone with this so-called "airline." Don't get me wrong, they seem to have a smart business model and *could* be really good, but poor customer service trumps just about anything in my book.
Is Skybus related to the "Easy" brand found all over Europe? Easyjet, EasyCruise .. even EasyPizza. The orange and white look the same.
Apparently they aren't related ... looks like Skybus is modeled after RyanAir ... blah.
Skybus flies into "Hartford" in CT, but what they really mean is Chickopee, Mass, where they rent one runway, the parking is in a field, and bagage claim is two guys throwing the bags over a fence onto a piece of plywood. It was really hilarious, but only because I was just picking someone up. No way would I get on that plane. My inlaws had their flight cancelled with no notice - but got an email twelve hours after the scheduled takeoff to let them know. Thanks a bunch, idiots.
@Buran: Just an FYI, the Long Beach airport is a very viable alternative to LAX (only about 20 minutes south) -- I fly in and out of there every chance I get (close-in parking, quick through security).
I regularly travel from NH to Ohio on business, and I am a recent convert to SkyBus. My last flight on Delta to Cincinnati cost nearly $800 and was canceled. That meant I had to get up very early the next morning & stop in Philly instead of getting the direct flight I reserved.
I haven't checked a bag yet on SkyBus, but the flight attendants on the planes have all been friendly. The planes are clean & new, and I'll gladly put up with the in-flight advertising for a cheap ticket.
i've flown skybus 5 or 6 times now, including flights into and out of bellingham, and it's no worse than any other airline. it is frustrating that there's no one to complain to, but if you search this very site you'll find the contact info you're looking for and the location of the corporate offices. sounds like you ran into a disgruntled employee and let it color your whole experience. don't give up now. track them down and make it right.
I live in Columbus, and have flown skybus myself, as have friends & coworkers. If you score the $10 flight, it's worth it. I haven't had any problems, and wasn't too upset with losing the $100 for the trip to Boston I couldn't make (it would've cost $160 plus new fares to change the flight).
Interestingly it looks like Chris Elliot's travel blog has a massive section with actual street addresses and phone numbers for Skybus.
[www.elliott.org]
4324 E. Fifth Ave, Columbus, OH 43219 (614) 246-8800
Not sure what happens if you call it though. Interestingly there are only FOUR hits for "4324 E 5th" and "4324 E Fifth" on Google, so either this info is wrong or it's well hidden from the masses.
@Buran: As mentioned previously, Long Beach is one "viable" alternative to LAX. Also, for those that know that civilization doesn't end just east of downtown, Ontario is another decent airport offering fewer headaches and hassle than LAX. I live almost halfway between LAX and Ontario, and prefer Ontario over driving across downtown and down the 405 to get to LAX.
Back to the topic on hand, I'm sure the chargeback of the $440 2nd ticket must have generated some response from the airline. Does Phil have an update on this?
I got on one of the first flights from Chattanooga (new Skybus destination) to Columbus. Got a $10 ticket ($26 after taxes, fees, and checking 1 bag). I had no problems at the skybus counter in the airport. The flight arrived on time, the staff was friendly and helpful, and we took off on time. My return flight ($36) was delayed (as were all the carriers) by weather for an hour, but we were kept notified so it wasn't too bad. As I am 6'5", I was hoping for an exit row and managed to get it on both flights because I was in 'Boarding Group 2'. I had a pleasant experience with Skybus and actually preferred flying out of Chattanooga as opposed to driving 15 minutes less to get to Atlanta.
4324 E 5th is a multiunit warehouse 4301 E FIFTH AV -331. It's owned by GENE B & STEPHEN T HYMES.
Well, be happy that they're not doing that well on some of their routes. I think Allegiant Air has a much better "alternative airport" operating model.
Anybody who buys a ticket on Skybus needs to have their head examined. They might as well have called the airline SkySubway ... because Greyhound provides better service. Skybus's service is about on par w/ the Broad Street Line in Philadelphia. "We will get there when we get there."
What a pain in the butt. I seriously have no idea what I would have done had the clerk said that to me. The charge back is definitely a nice alternative.
Southwest is excellent as far as customer service goes. Its easy to find alternative flights if flights get cancelled, and their website actually works. Plus some of the hubs they fly out of are much better than the busy old airports. Like O'Hare for instance
That entire series of events sounded SHADY as hell. You might have had better luck if you went to the air field and paid a guy with a crop duster to fly you to Ohio.
at the top of the page, underneath the search bar, columbus is spelled wrong, fyi
Southwest, Southwest, Southwest. I know they are not perfect, but they have a good balance. They have great service, better then most legacy airlines. As well as a great safety record. They are less expensive then Skybus, unless you score one of the few $10.00 tickets. I fly Southwest when ever it is possible, they earn the respest of their customers on every flight.
Might I add that Southwest is the #1 airline in this country for a reason, service. Skybus might want to take a look at how their service is going to run them out of town.
Yeah, skybus(t?) sounds like southwest taken to the next three levels. I love southwest ($50 commutes from SD to SAC rock), but if they had service like this I would pay the extra to take someone else.
Cheap doesn't matter if you have to buy two tickets :)
Southwest. And I don't just say that because I never have to fly out of Logan Airport with them. (They serve New England through airports in NH and RI rather than through Boston).
@FightOnTrojans: Hmm, thanks guys for the recommendation. Next time I'm out that way (I do have a friend there) I'll ask him if that's close enough for me to come get him there. I went to LAX before because my bf was there for a business trip and I met up with him and LAX was closer.
My mom has flown Skybus a couple times to visit my sister. (Mom lives in CT and sis lives just outside of Columbus, so it works out great).
She's been perfectly content with the service provided, and was amused at the tiny airport & baggage claim being a tent outside.
Sounds like you got a bad employee who colored your view of the airline, plus got caught up in the birthing pains of a new airline.
I do find in interesting that they note this happened on a two-week old airline. Skybus started flying the end of May '07*, she they would have flown mid-June. So it is over six months later that they write in to complain? How relevant is a six-month old experience on a then brand-new airline to their current business?
I'm not claiming Skybus is great, I've never flown them (and haven't flown since 2000) so I have no clue. But this letter smacks of someone holding an unreasonable grudge against the airline for the actions of the one clerk.
* according to this article: [www.usatoday.com]
Kenneth Gile
President and chief operating officer
kenneth.gile@skybus.com
Bill Diffenderffer
Chief executive officer
bill.diffenderffer@skybus.com
Amazing. Thank you consumerist, thank you whomever posted this. People like you will make the business of McAirlines and their corporate brethren a thing of the past. If i've learned anything from being frustrated myself when receiving bad service, is if you see someone else getting it as well, NEVER buy products from the same company. It's called voting with your feet, and the satisfaction i get from paying the competitor the extra insignificant cash is worth the world when trying to avoid bad business. Kudos!
I am not sure if those previous emails are correct or if these are. Anyway here is more info to ECB if you want.
Floyd Nickerson
Vice president, people
(614) 246-8800
fnickerson@skybus.com
Executives (*)
Kenneth Gile
President and chief operating officer
(614) 246-8800
kgile@skybus.com
Bill Diffenderffer
Chief executive officer
(614) 947-3103
bdiffenderffer@skybus.com
Southwest is smart enough to know that Bellingham is NOT an alternative airport to Seattle (the Seattle area only has one commercial airport, Seatac). There are flights from Bellingham to Seattle. If you book a flight on Alaska between LAX and Bellingham, you fly through Seattle to get there. On the other hand, it can only be good for Bellingham to have an additional airline (as prices from Bellingham tend to be high, most people I know in Bellingham will drive to Seattle to fly out instead).
Just to mention, in the LA area there is also the Burbank and John Wayne (Valley and Orange County respectively) as well as Palmdale further out (and very small) depending on where you are going. I believe Long Beach is the smallest of the 5 main commercial airports in the LA area.
sKYBUS sells plane tickets for TEN dollars.
If you're hiring someone to re-roof your house or drywall your basement should you take the lowest bid? Probably not. Would you pay bottom of the barrel rates for car insurance? Not a good idea. Then why pay it for transportation? Reducing the fraction: I can take the bus from my home downtown to my suburban office park for $1.50, which entails a transfer and an hour plus jaunt snaking down congested busy streets. Or I can pay $1.25 more and take the train - making my commute a quick 40 minutes trip.
You get what you pay for - airplane tickets included.
Just for completeness here is more info:
Bill Diffenderffer
Chief executive officer
(614) 947-3103
bill@skybus.com
billdiffenderffer@skybus.com
Ken Gile
President and chief operating officer
(614) 947-3104
ken@skybus.com
kengile@skybus.com
Charlie Clifton
Vice chairman
(614) 947-3105
charlesclifton10@hotmail.com
Judy Timberlake
VP of Marketing
(614) 947-3041
judy.timberlake@skybus.com
Denis Carvil
Vice president, ground and airports
(614) 947-3375
denis.carvil@skybus.com
This thread had me panicked. I'm s'posed to attend a convention in Columbus Friday and the con's guest coordinator bought my flight for me. I never thought I'd say this, but thankfully I'm flying on Midwest.
You'll be happy to know, that she is getting fired. Skybus service to Bellingham ends on January 5th.
@radleyas: I had the same thought after seeing the color scheme, but when I read the post I knew they weren't related. Cheap though they may be, easyJet is actually reputable and has halfway decent service. (Caveat: except for one easyBus driver who was really surly, but that's fairly inconsequential.)
Well, Skybus is ending Bellingham flights on the 5th due to "high fuel costs".
And I actually am flying Skybus from Columbus to "New York"... I mean Stewart/Newburgh in a few days. The seats were only $20 each way, which even after taxes, fees, gas, and buy-on-board foodstuffs, is far cheaper than what you can get from Fort Wayne or even Indy. I look forward to flying them... but then again, I'm an air travel freak.
@Buran: Long Beach, Burbank, Ontario, and Santa Ana are all viable alternatives. LA probably has more "viable alternatives" than any other city.
Best CEO name ever = Bill Diffenderfer.
I've flown Skybus three separate times and have found it to be more competent and reliable than Continental, Northwest, or United. The planes used were more comfortable, the service more friendly, and the prices? Not even a tenth of what I paid with the other airlines.
If they refused to let you on the plane with a confirmed reservation, that's an involuntary denial of boarding (aka a bump). Complain to the DOT and dispute the charge on your credit card.
Skybus was a very nice alternative for the San Diego-Columbus route...which they're discontinuing as of March or April. Primary airports on both ends, and the only non-stop available on the route. Even setting price aside, it was the best option.
Another nice thing: All the planes are brand new.
It actually sounds like the OP would be recommending the airline, but for the psycho in Bellingham.
A few thoughts:
The Bellingham Airport is at least 100 miles from the Seattle Airport. A little Homework would tell you that Bellingham =/= Seattle.
On the other hand, Horizon = Alaska's commuter air service (and they offer free microbrew/Washington wine on most flights). The leg from Seattle to Bellingham runs about $160 roundtrip they are about the only show in town for most flights into town.
As a nice, small airport, BLI is a billion times nicer to get into/out of than SEA.
After seeing a Bellingham-based airline with a realistic business plan fold almost instantly(Western Airlines offered flights for Candadian snow birds out of Bellingham to Las Vegas and Phoenix), I had no confidence in Skybus. They were offering $20 flights to Ohio and not much else. They looked seriously crazy or seriously shady or both.
Wow. Just... wow.
@jamesdenver: I had my house roofed by the lowest estimator and he did an amazing job and actually talked us out of $750 of work that wasn't really necessary. Just because it's inexpensive doesn't mean it will be crap - it can also mean that the provider is trying a volume model or is just ethical! Regardless of price, if it was $5 for a ticket they'd still be obliged to provide the service offered.
Price versus Service
Price versus Service
Price versus Service
You want a low price ($10) then you will get comparable level of service.
Fly First Class on ZXCVB Airline and you will get special flight attendant one-on-one in the the locked restroom level of service.
It all boils down to what you want (or need).
Price versus Service.
@StevieD: Just repeating the same, moronic mantra over and over doesn't make you right. For one thing, very few people get the $10 Skybus fare. He paid a good amount more than that and got service that wasn't even worth $10.
We all make these price-vs.-value compromises every day. He certainly deserved a better result.
@jamesdenver: Wow, great advice: You get what you pay for. I think we can safely say that Phil (who did not get one of the $10 fares) got far less than he paid for in this case.
There is no excuse for treatment like that or piss poor operation of the company.
But the story starts off with a complaint that the airport is not SeaTac. If you didn't know you weren't flying out of SeaTac before you book the flight then you aren't paying attention to detail, and that isnt their fault.
And flying into smaller airports can be awesome. The Colorado Springs airport is amazing compared to the behemoth that is Denver. I can land in Colorado Springs and be halfway to Denver before people at DIA get from their plane to baggage claim.
There is no excuse for rude behavior or piss poor customer service, or any of the attitude you received at the airport. That being said, the complaint starts off discussing not flying out of SeaTac airport. If you didn't know you weren't flying out of SeaTac before you booked the flight, that is your fault for not reading the details, not SkyBus'.
Even though SkyBus seems to be closing down in B-ham, be sure to let the Washington State Attorney General's office know about your experience. What happened to you may or may not have been fraudulent, and the AG may or may not be able to help you. But it's good to at least give them your story, in case yours is not an isolated case - that's how states bring charges against shady companies.
The entire story seems GROSSLY embellished. I can imagine a person having a problem with an employee, or showing as booked on a different flight, but unless you are undoubtedly the UNLUCKIEST person on the planet, you have been working this story up for maximum play.
I've flown Skybus 7 times round-trip between Columbus and Portsmouth since their inception. I read the rules carefully and took my chances, and I am yet to be disappointed. I've only found the sales pitch in-flight annoying probably twice, most of the time they will ignore you other than the food offer if you put headphones in.
However, out of ALL the times I've flown Skybus to/from Portsmouth, I've seen no less than 3 or 4 people that sound just like YOU in line. The entitlement is practically dripping out of your story. People can't read the kiosks and follow basic directions, and the second they get confused, they expect some minimum wage servant to rush from the shadows and cure their ills all while massaging their ego.
Grow up. If you are flying an airline that has issues with bags over a certain weight limit, do NOT intentionally pack a bag within just a few pounds of that limit. You are practically ASKING for issues, then crying about it!
I mostly fly Southwest, which also uses the "smaller less-crowded alternate airports" strategy. They fly to enough major areas via alternate airports that I haven't had a problem visiting most people I know; in the case of Miami the Ft. Lauderdale airport is actually closer to my final destination than the awful Miami airport is. Where I live they use a newer terminal that is almost exclusively theirs (a few gates are used for charter flights) that is a lot more convenient than the aging 70s-era main terminal.
So alternate airports aren't necessarily a bad thing. Saving the hassle of a huge terminal is definitely worth it. I think the biggest airport I've been to via SWA has been LAX, and I don't think LA really has a viable alternate airport.
Bad service is another thing entirely, but don't be turned off by the thought of going to an alternate. You might be pleasantly surprised.