Two New Airlines to Take to the Sky Soon

Two new low-cost airlines will soon take-off in a bid to gain market share in the ultra-competitive American market. Skybus will take off from Columbus, Ohio sometime in 2007 with a fleet of new 150-seat aircraft, likely 737s. Like Virgin America, Skybus still doesn't have a firm launch date, but things to appear to be moving at this carrier. The carrier redid their Web site a couple months ago to give the airline a younger, hipper image, and to expand their Web content. Skybus also sent out a press release approximately three weeks ago, detailing incentives the airline plans to receive as they get closer to launch and the creation of over 1,000 jobs in Columbus. The airline plans on receiving over $14,000,000 from the city of Columbus and up to an additional $27,000,000 from the local airport authority. These incentives include tax cuts, loans, and improvements to the airport that will help expand the facility's capacity in anticipation of the additional traffic Skybus will carry to Columbus. Like Virgin America, Skybus' application to provide air service is still under review by the Department of Transportation and will likely be approved after Virgin America's. Skybus hasn't given any strong hints as to what destinations they will serve, but the airline plans on being a point-to-point carrier that will serve major markets from Columbus. Markets like Boston, Chicago, New York City, Washington D.C. and Orlando are all possibilities. Things will likely continue to move closer to launch at Skybus in the next couple months, but because launch is further away than at Virgin America, there isn't as much info about the airline. When information is released, you can receive it by signing up for Skybus email updates on the Skybus home page.

But another airline will take to the sky much sooner, SkyValue Airlines plans on commencing operations from Gary, Indiana to several sunny destinations on December 1, 2006. SkyValue will use a 737-800 aircraft that is wet leased from Xtra Airways (a wet lease means that SkyValue will lease the plane as well as a crew to operate it). The plane will have 189 seats in an all-coach configuration, just like Ryanair's 737-800s, hence a tight squeeze for travelers. This will be a much smaller operation than Skybus, but important nonetheless. The flights will be a boon to the Gary Airport, which has tried persistently, yet unsuccessfully to get a strong airline to operate from the airport. Even though SkyValue would only bring a couple flights daily, that's momentum for the airport to expand. Gary is trying to market itself as Chicago's third airport, and has a very convincing argument, given that it's only 25 minutes from the Chicago Loop, but sadly Gary has a reputation as being a crime-infested district in another state that Chicagoans don't want to go near. That reputation will be very difficult for the airport to surmount. Moreover, both O'Hare and Midway are accessible on the Chicago's elevated trains, Gary isn't. Gary has had numerous airline tenants in the past years, but none have proven to be long lasting. SkyValue could make Gary work, if they market their operation enough, but given the obscurity of the airline, that could be tough. SkyValue plans on operating two or three flights a week to several warm destinations including Las Vegas, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, St. Petersburg, and Phoenix. It will be interesting to see whether SkyValue can make their operation work, but it appears that they are taking the right steps. They will begin to offer bookings on October 24 online, by phone, or through travel agents, and they plan on offering low enough fares to attract travelers to Gary, as low as $79 each way. It will be a hard sell, nonetheless given the presence of Southwest offering Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Florida service from Midway as well as the big boys American and United at O'Hare. But if SkyValue can service their niche, at least this winter, then perhaps they can expand their services in future months growing the airline, and hopefully the Gary Airport along with it.