New US international low-cost airline: SkyLink
Skylink Airways, Inc. received DOT approval for as many as 15 international destinations.
Not since the 1970 with Laker Airways and Peoples Express has there been a U.S.-based low-cost airline.
Based in Virginia, Skylink intends to fly wide-body Boeing 767s to as many as 15 countries on four continents, beginning this spring with service from Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Stansted Airport, London’s low-cost carrier airport hub, reported the Washington Post.
Aruba, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Taiwan have been named as other potential destinations.
Headed by veteran airline industry executive Kenneth Carlson, Skylink plans to sell economy and business-class tickets at fares 15 to 70 percent lower than those offered by traditional carriers.
A one-way business-class fare to Europe will be $700 instead of the $2,300 to $2,400 charged by traditional airlines. Economy fares are planned to start at $300 one-way.
Some industry analysts and CEOs are skeptical about the new airline, as major airlines are also lowering fares and would fight hard to protect their international market profits.
It appears, the company’s strategy is to use low cost airport hubs, where they can partner with other U.S. and European low-cost airlines for connecting flights. One problem will be the lacks of interline baggage service between the low-cost airlines.
Charles Kao
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