Flying for the cost of a bus ticket
CHRISTINE HICKS- USTA Travel
It's like déjà vu all over again. Remember People Express? Airfares for $10? It's real. And it's here.

Well, by HERE I don't mean Buffalo. But here, as in "now."

Skybus Airlines, operating out of its home base in Columbus, Ohio, does, indeed, offer $10 airfares. I found $10 available flights in the late summer/fall between Columbus and Richmond, Va. And $50 airfares from Columbus to Los Angeles (one way). Of course, by L.A. they mean Burbank, and there are taxes to be paid. A round-trip ticket to Burbank, nonetheless, can be had for $120.80. How can they do it?

Well, for openers, they have automated (read: computerized) everything. They've taken the "People" out of the "Express." There's no call center, no toll-free number. Everything is done online. And you'll pay for every extra you used to consider part of the service.

For example, on Skybus Airlines, for priority boarding, you'll pay $10 per passenger, per flight (unless you have a disability that requires advance boarding). Trip insurance is offered ($6.04 for the trip to L.A., for example). Want to check a bag? Each is $5 (up to two), and a third is $50. Oversize or overweight bags cost $25. Something to drink? $2 for a soft drink. Tickets are (naturally) nonrefundable. It's $40 to change each segment (flight), and you'll pay the difference only if a higher fare is available. If a lower fare is available, there's no refund. Miss your flight? Too bad.

Skybus is just the latest iteration of low-cost-based airlines to further shatter the mold of moldy, so-called "legacy carriers." Legacy carriers are clearly the dinosaurs in the room, a dying breed that must reinvent themselves (what few remain) in the wake of a new business model. It's not the olive in the salad that's missing anymore - it's the salad itself, and the blanket and the pillow. You'll have to shell out some shekels for water, pretzels and anything remotely looking like a meal aboard these upstart airlines. And don't bring your own food (on Skybus), "unless you brought enough for the whole plane." They don't disclose what uniform the food marshals wear on board, and I personally prefer not to have to surreptitiously chew.

What you pay for your trip is now more in your hands than ever. Having stripped out each service to offer it a la carte, if you will, you determine whether the cost of the service is worth what they will charge and shell out per service. To boot, air carriers are turning to advertising to further subsidize your journey. Some - like Allegiant Air out of Las Vegas - even sell goods on board, at the airport and on their Web site… Elvis sunglasses, beach towels.

It's rather fun to see just how far airlines have flown since the regulated days of the 1960s. Do you suppose if we wait long enough, we'll get paid to fly? We'll see.

(Christine Hicks-Usta has enjoyed more than 30 years of globe-trotting as a member of the travel industry in various capacities. Direct questions to her at Bee Group Newspapers, P.O. Box 150, Buffalo, NY 14231-0150.)