Skybus: The amazing shrinking airline

I've blogged about the start-up no-frills airline Skybus, based in my home town of Columbus, Ohio. Entering the market at a time when passengers are screaming about poor service with an airline that brags about having no customer service department may, in hindsight, be seen as a mistake.

The airline is making no friends at the moment by trimming the already thin flight itinerary. Today it announced that it is lopping off another west coast destination, Oakland. After having already discontinued flights to Bellingham, Wa., and San Diego, this leaves L.A. the only western destination served by Skybus.

The company points to fuel costs as the reason for its decision to drop the Bay Area. I wonder, however, if rising fuel prices were so very difficult to predict when they originally set up their schedule? In case you haven't heard, Skybus, here's a scoop; many experts think gas could go even higher, maybe $4 a gallon.

My wife and a friend are in the market for tickets to SF, and I'd mentioned Skybus as a possibility. Now I'd be hard-pressed to recommend Skybus to anyone flying anywhere. A cheap ticket on a flight that is cancelled is not a bargain.