Skybus, King of the No-Frills Skies

It was a cool morning (50 deg F ) in Ventura County when we left the house at 6 AM. The destination was Bob Hope Airport in Burbank California for my first flight on Skybus. The sedan ride was uneventful and we arrived at the airport 90 minutes before take-off at 8:16 AM to our final destination of Columbus, Ohio.

Ticket Purchase

We purchased 2 round trip tickets about 4 months prior to the flight; the flight was December 17, 2007. Tickets were purchased online and were $220 each which included taxes, fees, and $10 extra for preferred boarding. Preferred Skybus boarding allows you to board in the second wave of four, which is second only to people who have a disability, are handicap, or need a little extra time to board.

Two days before the flight Skybus sent us a reminder about the flight and we found that the take-off time had been moved up by 30 minutes. Had Skybus not sent the notice we may have been late for the flight.

Ticket purchase was a breeze and the email saved me some hassle, although I would normally check the flight status the night before departure. Rating 5 of 5 stars.

Check In and Baggage

Check-in can only take place in 2 ways, online or at an automated kiosk. My wife and I opted to check in at the kiosk. Check-in went smooth. We had 2 additional bags in addition to our carry-on, so that required another payment of $10 (total). The "ATM" printed our boarding pass and I noticed we had a "3" in the boarding box. I was expecting a "1" for preferred boarding.

We walked a few feet to the Skybus baggage check-in area, staffed by 2 people. I placed my bag on the scale and informed the attendant of the boarding priority issue. She looked at our passes and our online receipt. She apologized and changed the "3" to "1" and initialed the change. I asked if this would be enough to get the proper boarding at the gate and she replied "yes, I will be at the gate". Rating 4 of 5 stars (and yes we boarded with the "ones" at the gate).

Airport Check Point and Breakfast

Since Skybus flies out of smaller airports, I decided to add comments about the airport facilities. The line at security was just as long as any I had seen at LAX. It may have been due to the Holiday, or not. However it took 30 minutes to get through security and put our shoes back on. Rating 3 of 5 stars.

Not much to choose from in the way of eating at Bob Hope airport. They have a small "cafeteria" style restaurant that we opted for. We both ordered pre-made breakfast egg-potato-ham burritos with salsa, one coffee, and a kiwi-strawberry Snapple. Total cost was $21. The burrito was good size and better than most but the salsa had little flavor. In the end, my wife and I decided that we could had split one and been full until landing. Coffee was better than average. Rating 3.5 of 5 stars.

Flight Readiness

We arrived at the gate about 30 minutes prior to boarding time (boarding time was supposed to be 7:54 AM). The plane did not show up at the gate until 8:00 AM. It was an incoming flight from Columbus. Skybus debarks from both the front and back of the plane, onto the tarmac. I was impressed with the deboarding, it only took about 10 minutes. So at about 8:15 AM Skybus was ready to board the passengers. Rating 2.5 of 5 stars (I take off a lot for late flights).

Boarding

At the gate Skybus has the passengers form three lines based upon boarding priority. We were in line 1 since we paid $10 to have preferential boarding. I think that line 2 is for people with small children and line 3 is for everyone else. I speculate this based on the information on their website. The process was somewhat chaotic. We had been near the front since we arrived at the gate; other passengers were just walking right up in front of us. Each time I had to politely inform them that the line forms to the rear. Only one person objected so my wife punched him in the nose (just kidding). We were about 10 people back when the boarding started.

Skybus had one disabled passenger that went first. Again I was impressed that the staff let the man get all the way onto plane before letting the first line board. We were allowed to board from the front and the rear, so I had no problem finding an aisle and middle seat for me and my wife (boarding for the back). As people boarded, I could see that there was plenty of overhead space for luggage. The flight was only about 85% full; however a young man took the window seat next to us. Most single parties either take an aisle or window, so the open window seat must have been attractive (note to self for further flights).

Overall, boarding took only 20 minutes and 10 minutes later we were in the air (8:45 AM). The pilot came on the overhead while we were closing the doors and said that the flight would take 3 hours and 45 minutes. The itinerary said the flight was 4 hours and 10 minutes. So even taking off 30 minutes late meant we would arrive nearly on time. Take-off was smooth. Rating 4 of 5 stars.

Seating, Leg Room, and Cabin

If you want to know the seat measurements, check the Skybus website. I will give my input here. Seats are leather. Width is a little better than normal. Leg room is a little less than normal (I am 5' 10"). The seat reclines about 3 inches. There is no power for your laptop so I am writing this from a big, bulky easy-chair at my son's home. My wife felt confined in the middle seat (go figure).

The walking AISLE is huge, this makes it so easy to board and move around in the cabin. When the flight attendants were serving food, people could scooch by them to get to the restroom. When my buttocks were tired, I could stand a stretch with ease. Because of this and compared to other airlines (in this class) I rated seating, leg room, and cabin at 3.5 of 5 stars.

Food Service

We should all know that Skybus charges for food, beverages, water, pillows, blankets, etc. You can find a list and prices on the website. The young man next to us wanted a blanket but passed on the $12 charge. We purchased a water and cran-apple juice (both 12 ounces) for $2 each. Since we had a good breakfast, we did not eat any food. The chicken sandwiches smelled very good ($8). The $8 price was not far from the burrito cost at the airport. Rating 3 of 5 stars.

"Tings"

Skybus sells perfume, beef jerky, backbacks, t-shirts, and other things in flight. This would not bother me however I was in the middle of a nice nap when the flight attendant blared on the overhead that they would be coming though to sell these "tings". So when I give the 1 of 5 stars for a rating, it is not because the business model does not work, it is because "you woke me up". Rating 1 of 5 stars (lower the volume, please! (This carries little weight in the overall rating, this time...)).

Flight Attendants and pilots

Super Nice! So Nice! Polite!

Only one comment...keep your seat belt on when the "fasten seat belt" light is on, even if you have to go to the bathroom. Skybus is strict about this. We were leveled off at 37,000 feet and this little old lady got up to use the lavatory and the flight attendant asked her to be seated. She stated she really needed to go...the flight attendant said "no go". Most other airlines are not this strict. I took off a star for this mainly because I like the cabin to be clean and odiferous free. Rating 4 of 5 stars.

Landing, Debarking, Port Columbus, and Luggage

A sweet landing 3 hours and 45 minutes after take-off and easy debarking from both front and back. The doors were open within 3 minutes of arriving at the gate. This is a record for me. Rating 5 of 5 stars

Port Columbus must have been under evaluation orders...no people were there, or maybe it seemed that way since I live in SoCal. Luggage was at the pickup point 5 minutes after I arrived. Rating "for the fun of it".

Skybus

I have yet to do the return flight, however at $454 (fare, taxes, baggage, and in-flight beverage) for two, round trip tickets from Los Angeles to Ohio was a bargain on Skybus.