Flying Cheaply Out of Kansas City
Customer service champion, the Irish airline RyanAir, is the inspiration for the US launch of SkyBus Airlines in the US. Kansas City is on the initial network as it launches on May 22, 2007.
What does that mean? It means you can fly from KCI to Columbus Ohio, where SkyBus is based, for $10. And then you can fly from Columbus, Oh to Boston for another $10. Weekend prices tend to be $40 and $50 one-way.
What? Well, hang on, it’s the RyanAir model. So you can only book online; there is no phone number. You also will pay a fee to check in a bag. And you will pay a fee to book a preferred seat. You will not be allowed to bring any food on board, because you will get fleeced once up in the sky.
RyanAir also flog you lottery tickets as well as duty-free so expect SkyBus to sell you whatever they can. Their initial fees and taxes may also not resemble the fees and taxes charged by other airlines.
Oh, and because it’s the RyanAir model, to get cheaper airport fees you’ll be flying to cheaper airports. So the Boston you’ll be flying to isn’t Logan International; it’s not even in Massachussetts. Nope the airport SkyBus are calling Boston is actually in Portsmouth, New Hampshire - supposedly only an hour hour north of Logan.
Still, if SkyBus successfully applies this budget style to the American market, you will have cheaper fares available - and if you can combine them with the new airline RyanAir’s Michael O’Leary is launching on the Trans-Atlantic market, flying from KC to Ireland could be about to get a lot cheaper - if a touch more fragmented.
Just don’t go complaining about customer service.
See Also:
• Flying to Ireland from Kansas City: A Personal View
• SkyBus Website
• NY Times Article
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