Daily Mail Article(12/11)
A NEW budget airline is planning to offer flights between Britain and America for as little as pounds 62 one way.
Sky-Bus International will operate between Luton and Florida and New England in a move expected to trigger a transatlantic flight boom.
The service is the first to offer cheap flights between Britain and the U.S. since Sir Freddie Laker's illfated Skytrain service to New York 25 years ago.
Sky-Bus - which will have a yellow and black livery similar to a U.S. school bus - plans to offer unrestricted one-way fares of pounds 100, with some tickets discounted to around pounds 62. Most people would buy a return flight at pounds 124.
Virtually all the seats will be sold on the Internet, but fares could get even cheaper for those who hold their nerve and take part in a lastminute airport seat auction.
The airline promises to auction off at least 20 seats an hour before each daily departure to ensure the plane is as full as possible.
Sky-Bus will be a no-frills service, with in-flight meals on the Boeing 767-300ER aircraft limited to cold snacks. Passengers will be able to top up their own packed lunches by buying sandwiches and hot drinks.
Initially, Sky-Bus plans to use just two 767 aircraft, each capable of carrying 294 passengers. But it has major expansion plans.
These include operating flights from Stansted in Essex, as well as Dublin and Shannon in Ireland. U.S. routes would also be increased to include the West Coast.
Just as with Britain's budget airlines, Sky-Bus will save money by operating out of smaller airports.
One aircraft will fly to Sanford, which is near Disney World and Orlando in Florida. It will then go on to Portsmouth, near Boston, before returning to Luton. Another flies from Luton to Portsmouth and on to Sandford.
Tickets could be even cheaper, in real terms, than the Laker Skytrain, which offered one-way fares for as little as pounds 59. But Sky-Bus director Jonathan Aslett said: 'This is not the same as Laker, as his operation competed directly with existing airlines from the same hubs.
'By picking no-frills hubs we can link easyJet passengers from Luton with transatlantic services and, at the other end, link them with JetBlue, Pan-Am and South West airlines.' Sky-Bus has start-up costs of around pounds 7.5million and has already secured one lease with U.S. aircraft backers. It has applied for a licence from the Civil Aviation Authority and route authorisation.
Assuming it gets the finance, Sky- Bus will announce a formal launch in February, with flights starting around July.
A British Airways flight to Orlando next July is currently selling for pounds 315 but has the benefit of BA's service and backup aircraft.
Travel industry experts welcomed Sky-Bus's efforts to break the stranglehold by the likes of BA, Virgin Atlantic and U.S. operators United and American.
Phil Davies, editor of Travel Trade Gazette, said: 'The idea of providing a no-frills transatlantic air bridge tying into easyJet's European network and its equivalents on U.S. domestic routes is a compelling concept.
'Let's hope Sky-Bus gets the chance to get off the ground and prove itself. It should not fail through a lack of demand.'