Buses With Wings -- the Future of Flying?

Nov. 19, 2007— -- Does anyone like to fly anymore? It seems like the once-glamorous experience has lost its charm.

It's not just the crowds, the high prices, the hassle of airport security — it's also the disappointment. When you're up in the air, you don't just want to be on a bus with wings. But these days, that is often the case.

Flying was once sophisticated — not an ordeal, but an expedition. Every flight attendant was the model of perfection, well-dressed, perfectly coiffed, enthusiastic and helpful. Pilots were somewhat awe-inspiring, reminiscent of ship captains, and outwardly enthusiastic about flying — a point made obvious by the shiny wings on their lapels.

Passengers used to dress up for flights, instead of slipping on an old sweatsuit that seems to have become the typical garb.

But you can't blame the passengers having, perhaps, lost motivation to get dolled up, after paying enormous fuel surcharges, having their luggage lost, missing connections, waiting on runways, and flying through dinners un-served.

The major airlines aren't exactly making out too well, either. Five U.S. airlines have sought bankruptcy protection in the last six years.

In 2005, Delta Air Lines Inc., and Northwest Airlines — the nation's No. 3 and No. 4 air carriers, respectively — both declared bankruptcy protection on the same day. United Airlines filed for Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy protection twice — once in 2002, and again in 2004.

Smaller, low-cost airlines were not saved, either. Hawaiian Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2003, while ATA Airlines filed in October 2004.

The flying experience is so bad, in large part, because the airlines are cutting costs in their struggle to make money. Thus, they are trying to squeeze more people onto planes, and more planes into the sky.

Skybus CEO Bill Diffenderffer hopes to change all this and revolutionize the way we think about flying. Skybus launched last spring, entering the growing arena of discount air carriers. The name Skybus tells you what it's trying to pull off: an airline experience so stripped-down, cost-cutting and frill-free, it actually is like a bus with wings.

Skybus charges $5 each for the first two bags you check. Each bag after that will run you $50. There are no complimentary refreshments, like Coke, coffee, or peanuts. Neither are there free blankets and pillows. If you want anything, you will have to pay for it, and flight attendants make a commission on every sale, which is why they roll down the aisles with carts of watches and sunglasses.

There is also a fair amount of in-your-face advertising. The outside of the plane rents out as a billboard. Skybus' frugality is a point of humor for other airlines, who sometimes joke that you have to pay to use the plane bathrooms as well.

"Well, we thought about it," Diffenderffer said. "No, not really, but we joke about it all the time. Our competitors sort of make it look like we do, but we said you wouldn't have to pay to get in — you just have to pay to get out."

But at these prices, it's hard to be disappointed. The first ten passengers to book on any flight only pay $10 per one-way trip — a marketing ploy that Skybus actually follows through with. After the first ten customers, prices are still low. One family of four, who talked to ABC News, paid $200, including taxes, to fly round trip from Columbus, Ohio to Oakland, Calif.

They not only promise low prices, but also aim to have quick turnaround between planes landing and taking off. Diffenderffer has a rule that he will only allow 25 minutes between a plane landing, it being de-boarded, cleaned and boarded again.

Diffenderffer believes this quick turnaround is possible because the planes are not based in major airports. In fact, the airports are located well outside major cities — in places like St. Augustine, Fla., Newburgh, N.Y., and Portsmouth, N.H. Diffenderffer believes these outlying locations may actually be beneficial to customers.

"Portsmouth is a great example," said Diffenderffer. "You can say, 'I'd rather fly into Logan, because its closer to downtown.' Well, Logan can be a mess. But a lot of our passengers actually living in southern New Hampshire or Maine, or Vermont, or northern Massachusetts, they go, 'wow, I don't have to deal with Logan.'"

Not only are major airports inconvenient, geographically, for some customers, Diffenderffer also believes it is impossible to be efficient in major airports any more.

"We can do 25 minutes turnaround," said Diffenderffer of his plane. "That airplane, when it leaves here, it will be No. 1 or No. 2 for takeoff. That's a great thing. Passengers hate hearing, 'ladies and gentlemen, we are No. 30 for takeoff.' They hate looking at that line of airplanes. They will never see that with us."

Right now, every flight in the Skybus system goes either to or from Columbus, Ohio. But Skybus has plans to grow the system over the coming years, assuming, unlike so many other startup airlines, that it survives.

But they might have a chance, because unlike their predecessors, they don't pretend to be better than buses.