Thousands Stuck as Asian Budget Airline Folds

Low-cost Ohio carrier with $10 fares is airline industry's third casualty in a week

(NEWSER) - Anybody who wondered how Skybus could make money with its famous $10 airfares can stop: they didn't. The Ohio-based airline has become the latest US carrier to go bankrupt in the face of soaring fuel costs and a sluggish economy, the Columbus Dispatch reports. It made its last flight yesterday and passengers boarding planes were warned their return tickets had suddenly become one-way. More»

(NEWSER) - The budget-airline boss who's thinking about charging passengers to use the bathrooms on his planes wants you to know that he doesn't feel a bit bad about it. If you expect to be coddled, Michael O'Leary tells the New York Times, Ryanair's not for you. O'Leary—famed for his rudeness and his readiness to tack on every possible extra charge to keep ticket prices low—is just about the only airline CEO who has anything to boast about these days: Ryanair expects passenger numbers to jump from 58 million to 68 million this year while rival airlines flounder. More»

Passenger boos too much for one American Airlines flight crew

(NEWSER) - The passengers of an American Airlines flight from Miami to New York on Sunday night probably thought the worst was over when their flight crew finally arrived at the gate an hour late. But angry passengers greeted them with boos and, according to some accounts, obscenities. The crew responded by refusing to board the plane, citing a "hostile work environment," Fox News reports. More»

Discount carriers forced to dump discounts or go bust

(NEWSER) - Rock-bottom airfares are going the way of the zeppelin as fuel prices continue their climb into the stratosphere, the New York Times reports. Some budget carriers have gone bust. Others have hiked fares and begun to woo more business travelers, blurring the line between big carriers and discount operations. Southwest and JetBlue have ditched their caps on fares, with JetBlue doubling its one-way cross-country fare to as much as $599. More»

Soaring fuel prices mean airline fees, shakeups here to stay

(NEWSER) - The days of discounts and perks on major US airlines have disappeared from the horizon, possibly forever, Marketwatch writes. The stratospheric fuel prices that caused three airlines to shut down last week alone are forcing airlines to boost their bottom lines any way they can. Capacity is being cut back and charges for things like second bags are spreading through the industry. More»