the 270 :: Your Guide to Columbus and Central Ohio » airport http://the270.com Columbus and the burbs Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:58:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 en Skybus kaput! http://the270.com/2008/04/05/skybus-kaput/ http://the270.com/2008/04/05/skybus-kaput/#comments Sat, 05 Apr 2008 04:10:19 +0000 Andy http://the270.com/2008/04/05/skybus-kaput/ I just saw that Skybus is ending operations effective Saturday - tomorrow.  And in typical Skybus fashion - Passengers with travel insurance would be reimbursed for unused tickets and hotel rooms.  Others will need to cancel their unused tickets through their credit card company.  You knew that things were going down the tubes when the CEO stepped down.  The lesson from Skybus - when you don’t care about the customer, your shelf life is limited.  You can’t just cancel flights and leave customers stranded.  That earns you no repeat business.  

]]> http://the270.com/2008/04/05/skybus-kaput/feed/ Flying Skybus - roll the dice, baby! http://the270.com/2008/03/17/flying-skybus-roll-the-dice-baby/ http://the270.com/2008/03/17/flying-skybus-roll-the-dice-baby/#comments Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:23:44 +0000 Andy http://the270.com/2008/03/17/flying-skybus-roll-the-dice-baby/ I just got back from New York via Skybus and maybe it’s time to re-evaluate Skybus as a legitimate flying alternative. My Sunday night flight was cancelled and thus I took the Monday morning flight in today. All in all, it was fine to spend another day in New York but it did up our bill with an extra night at a hotel. When we got on the plane, my wife asked why the flight had been cancelled the night before. The stewardess told us that a bird flew into the windshield and shattered it. Is this the equivalent of “the dog ate my homework” excuse. She said that this was a common occurrence.
Creative Commons License photo credit: NCBrian

I’ve heard of a bird being sucked into a jet engine but not sure I’ve heard of a bird shattering the cockpit windshield. I think Skybus was putting us on. I bet they cancelled the flight because not enough people were on it to make it worthwhile.

This brings me to the question of whether Skybus is really that great a deal. Well here’s my tab:

Round trip fare for 2 - $251.16 (to Newburgh, New York)
baggage checked - $40
upgrade to priority boarding - $25
taxes and fees - 106.84

total price = $423.00

Well almost the total price. We also had the following extras as a result:

$46 in bus, train and cab fees to get from Newburgh to New York City
$71 in extra hotel costs for additional unplanned night in Newburgh

Luckily, we had some family take us back up to Newburgh and avoided further train/bus fees. All told, we were well over $500 in travel costs using Skybus. Because Skybus flies into out of the way airports, you usually end up spending your savings on additional transportation to your final destination. Next time, I fly into New York, I’ll try another airline that lands in one of the major airports and compare the total cost.

]]> http://the270.com/2008/03/17/flying-skybus-roll-the-dice-baby/feed/ Canal Winchester - THE premier tourist destination of southeastern Central Ohio http://the270.com/2008/02/04/canal-winchester-the-premier-tourist-destination-of-southeastern-central-ohio/ http://the270.com/2008/02/04/canal-winchester-the-premier-tourist-destination-of-southeastern-central-ohio/#comments Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:08:51 +0000 wyliemac http://the270.com/2008/02/04/canal-winchester-the-premier-tourist-destination-of-southeastern-central-ohio/ That according to Canal Winchester’s promotional push on Skybus. And apparantly its working. At least the Boston Globe picked up on it and actually visited Canal Winchester.

Skybus initially thought Canal Winchester’s script for its announcement was a joke. “They can say what they want,” Hodge said. “It’s a very subjective claim.”

Canal Winchester development director Chris Strayer, who hoped to attract tourists and business investments, said, “There’s definitely been some benefit to it, but I can’t quantify it” in terms of visitor spending or new deals.

Canal Winchester says it has five “attractions,” but its Doll and Toy Museum was closed for the season, and three others - Motts Military Museum, Slate Run Vineyard, and Slate Run Historical Farm - are actually outside the village’s boundaries.

Overall, it is a positive article about Skybus, Canal Winchester and Columbus in general

]]> http://the270.com/2008/02/04/canal-winchester-the-premier-tourist-destination-of-southeastern-central-ohio/feed/ Don Scott Observation Tower http://the270.com/2007/07/26/don-scott-observation-tower/ http://the270.com/2007/07/26/don-scott-observation-tower/#comments Fri, 27 Jul 2007 02:47:19 +0000 wyliemac http://the270.com/2007/07/26/don-scott-observation-tower/ Don Scott

I’m always on the lookout to do fun things with the kids on the cheap. A friend of mine suggested that I take the kids to the Observation Tower at Don Scott Field. I’m glad I did. The kids had a blast watching the planes take off and land. Plus, they had a popcorn maker in the lobby. Which made my daughter happy.

Also, if you’re lucky you might run in to a celebrity or two. A lot of corporate jets fly in to Don Scott. So, you never know who might be on board one of those things. The day we went, we had no such luck. Just a few business men waiting for a colleague before they took off on their private jet.

2160 West Case Road
Columbus, Ohio 43235 (map)
1.800.777.5488


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