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The general reaction so far to Skybus has been a pretty postive one here in Columbus. But is the buzz just as strong in the eight destination cities? Is anyone excited about cheap airfare going to Columbus, or are we just an inconvenient layover on the way from Boston to San Francisco?
Here’s a couple of quotes from some selected news sites.
The Bellingham Herald wrote Ken Oplinger, president and CEO of the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce and Industry, hailed the news from Skybus. “The continued growth of the Bellingham/Vancouver market has brought a number of air carriers to our community over the last few years, but the potential expansion which Skybus brings is unprecedented,” Oplinger said. (READ MORE)
Scott Ayer’s Blog on The Bellingham Herald wrote News of the impending arrival of Skybus airlines will not be welcome throughout Whatcom County. Already some people are starting to express concerns that the airport will grow too large and end up damaging our small community.
How big do we want Bellingham International Airport to get? Is it OK if we end up with the biggest minor airport in the region — something smaller than Seattle of Vancouver, but much larger than the airport we have today? (READ MORE)
The San Jose Mercury News wrote Even if Columbus is not your destination, it’s located within 200 miles of Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. (READ MORE)
The Los Angeles Times Daily Deal Blog wrote Anybody want to go to Ohio? Anybody?
Why Go: I used their system and found that I could get to Columbus for $20.40, and then Columbus to Boston round-trip for $36.30. Columbus back to Burbank was $85.40. That’s Burbank to Boston for $142.10 round-trip, including taxes. I included a couple overnights in Columbus between flight segments so I could seek out more reasons to take advantage of $10 tickets.
Why Not to go: Columbus is the only destination available from Los Angeles (Burbank). (READ MORE)
Kansas City InfoZine wrote “According to the most recent Department of Transportation data, the average one-way air fare between KCI and Columbus exceeded $140,” said VanLoh. “We anticipate Skybus will substantially lower the average fare, allowing more passengers to fly between these two growing cities.” (READ MORE)
Greensboro News & Record wrote Skybus will soon offer promotional $10 seats on flights from Greensboro to Columbus, Ohio. Now, once people exhausted the jokes about $10 airline tickets (“Free life jacket with every purchase!”), the question was, “Why did the chicken book a flight to Columbus?” (Naturally, to be closer to Toledo.)
However, you could also pose the reverse question from the Columbus end — why Greensboro, North Carolina? Skybus already had the answer: PTI is located near the middle of the state, a spokesman observed, close to the Charlotte and Triangle markets.
But doesn’t Greensboro have just one or two attractions to offer? After all, we are the birthplace of Vicks VapoRub. (READ MORE)
Richmond.com wrote All of the flights either originate or terminate in Columbus. Therefore, if you wanted to fly from Richmond to Seattle on Skybus, you would have to book two separate flights. First you would have to fly to Columbus and spend the night. The next day you would fly to Seattle. Upon your return, you would have to spend the night in Columbus again before heading to Richmond. While your travel plans would have to be pretty flexible, the cost savings might be well worth the hassle. (READ MORE)
MiamiHerald.com wrote Columbus ranks as one of the airport’s largest underserved markets. More than 108,000 passengers connected through other cities to fly from Fort Lauderdale to Columbus in 2005, Belleme said, citing Department of Transportation data. (READ MORE)
The Pink Slip Blog wrote $10 one-way, weekday, if I’ve got it straight – means that pretty much everybody in Portsmouth can afford to make the trip. Heck, at that price, the people in Portsmouth almost can’t afford to stay home.
But I’ve been to Columbus and, while it’s a pleasant enough city, unless you’re an Ohio State Buckeye, part of the state government, or trying to sell something to Nationwide Insurance, I don’t think there’s all that much that would woo you there on a steady basis. (READ MORE)
Wow! That “ugly stepsister” crack really came out of left field!
Yeah, I was thinking the same. For a complimentary article on Columbus, that was a little unneeded. And who the hell would rather go to Cleveland???
Meh, to each his or her own. I wouldn’t want to live in New Hampshire, so no reason to expect someone there would necessarily want to live here.
until we can get the census bureau to change the way they map citizen counts, we are lumped in with the rediculous “midwestern” tag.
anybody can look at a map and see that ohio has nothing to do with any tag that has “west” in it. it’s is much more “middle america”, “midnorth”, or even “mideast”. still, i think it has more to do with the fact that the areas that lie west beyond chicago have a pretty small demographic. if they were to remove ohio (#7), michigan (#8), and illinois(#5) from the midwest demographics. i’m pretty sure all that land to population would look quite pathetic.
fyi the (#) are the ranking of most populated states.
which brings me to my last statement. seeing as how we make up a huge chunk of the midwest demographics along with 2 other middle of america states… it shouldn’t be called the “midwest”! 8)
as for the topic, i’m very glad that skybus is here, and i think that columbus capitalizing on the fact that many new visitors will be here via skybus over night layovers, is just as important for skybus’ longevity as it is for new visitor’s perception of columbus.
Agreed. Not that Columbus is one of the most beautiful cities in the world or anything, but I’d hardly call it “ugly” when comparing it to Cleveland. :lol:
By Darren Garnick
Thursday, May 31, 2007
So now Portsmouth has been blessed with the airline equivalent of the Fung Wah Bus – at least in terms of outrageously low fares. Ten bucks for an airline ticket.
Just one problem: Currently, the only place to go from the former Pease Air Force Base is Columbus, Ohio.
If you want to get a few of your college buddies together to grab a cheeseburger and a Frosty at the original Wendy’s restaurant, Skybus is the airline for you. Ditto for watching the Columbus Clippers, the New York Yankees of the Future (or the Now, the way the season is going).
If I were a fast food history buff, I’d be psyched about Skybus. The pilgrimage to Wendy’s could become a monthly ritual. But once my tourist dreams go beyond Columbus, the potential savings doesn’t seem worth the aggravation.
READ MORE
And now… an email I just sent to Mr. Darren Garnick:
Some good news and some bad news…
First the bad news. The original Wendy’s location in downtown Columbus closed a few months ago. The locals are pissed, and Dave Thomas is probably spinning in his grave, but the heads of the company said it was underperforming for years and they had no interest in revamping it. Sad.
And now the good news. Columbus has a lot more to offer than just Wendy’s! With a population roughly 10 times the size of Nashua (which I have to admit I’ve never heard of before today) we’ve got the population to support quite a diverse variety of entertainment options. Sure, we’ve got no iconic landmark for the sterotypical tourists, but we’ve got other things worth visiting for! We’ve got quite a few nicely rennovated urban neighborhoods (Short North, German Village, Clintonville, the Arena District, Olde Town East) filled with art galleries, boutiques, markets, restaurnts, and bars. We’ve got a pro NHL team and a pro MLS team in addition to some of the best college sports teams at OSU, which is one of the largest universities in the country. We’ve got a whole plethora of events all year long from the Ohio State Fair (one of the largest in the country) to Red White and Boom (one of the largest fireworks shows in the Midwest) to the monthly gallery hops in the Short North, to the free three-day outdoor music festival Comfest, to about a dozen other annual events.
So yeah, if you ever decide to take that $10 plunge and give Columbus a shot, hit me up and I’ll let you know what’s going on while you’re in town and what things you definitely need to see and do while here. I’d hate for you to spend a weekend twiddling your thumbs outside of a boarded up chain restaurant and go home and write up a bad review.
later,
Walker Evans
^ You forgot to correct him on the other error in his Wendy’s paragraph. The Clippers are not affiliated with the Yankees. They are the Washington Nationals’ AAA team. ;)
I can’t believe someone from a podunk town said that there’s nothing to do here. :lol:
I gotta hear his reply.
Where is Nashua?
New Hampshire:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashua,_New_Hampshire
Hmm, sounds like nice, quaint little town. Maybe I’ll retire there. :roll:
Thursday, May 31, 2007
The Union Tribune reported that the Columbus Ohio based SkyBus airlines is initating service between San Diego and Columbus (non stop). Regular fares will be $50-$75 each way. That is a bargain to fly to the mid west!
Did you know that Columbus is within driving distance of major cities like: Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Cincinatti? Or even Charleston, West Virginia? Sounds like a fun, cheap weekend of steak and cocktails in the mid west, to me.
READ MORE
It’s great to see that we’re “close to major cities” like Cincinnati and Cleveland…bah.
And even Charleston, WV :?
LOL I wonder if that writer has ever been to Columbus. Or Charleston, WV for that matter. (I drove through Charleston a fair amount, though I don’t think I ever stopped there fore more than gas. Didn’t look like there was much to see. And the tacky Golden Dome of the WV capitol is just sad, at least as seen from I-77, though the Google Image photos of it from ground level don’t look quite so redneck.)
Well, lemme tell ya…as someone who’s spent weekends in Charleston, Pittsburgh, Cincy, and Cleveland, you’d have to actually pay me to go back to 3 of the 4 (I still like Pittsburgh).
But hey, you can fly into Columbus and set off to Cincy for your weekend of steak and cocktails I guess. This one gets a letter from me for being so ridiculously out of reality it should have never even made it on the interweb (and that’s saying something).
Hopefully the blog does get a response from the one’s who will fly on Skybus. At least Skybus is creating a buz about Columbus that otherwise wouldn’t be discussed.
May 31st, 2007 — Eric Wolff
An obscure new airline will soon set up shop in our fair Lindbergh Field, the extremely cheap carrier Skybus. The model sounds great. They promise extremely cheap fares, kind service, and non-stop flights. And it’s true, the fares are extremely cheap. You can get to Columbus, Ohio for $50 one way, which would be great if I wanted to go to Columbus. Unfortunately, I never want to go to Columbus. Ever.
READ MORE
If nothing else, the opening of Skybus has given us a pretty clear idea of how the entire rest of the country views us.