Skybus, my 1st and only experience

From Feb 2008:

At the end of January, I took a flight to see a friend of mine in Ohio. I had the opportunity to take the "Skybus". By now, I'm sure you've seen the ads for the "$10 flights", etc.
I took a flight from Greensboro, NC to Columbus, OH on Thursday night. That flight was fantastic.

As I arrive at the gate, this brand new, bright orange plane with "Skybus" (and their cute logo) pulled up outside. Immediately, I'm stoked because brand new planes exite me. (Yes, clearly, I need to get a life).

It gets better.

As I step onto the plane, I think, "Oh, it's just a regular plane on the inside".

But alas, I was wrong.

I took my aisle seat and strapped in for the hour or so flight. Here is the amazing part: People were walking down the aisle and NOT bumping into me. Not even that 350 lb ex-football player. OMG. The aisles are huge (well, compared to regular planes).

Ahhhh...it was so nice.

It gets better.

The flight itself was uneventful (exactly what we all like in our air travel).

We landed sooooooo beautifully, that when I stepped off the plane, I looked underneath to see if there were actually 10 tires under there.

Seriously, I'm on a lot of planes and this was the best flight I've taken in 5 years.

So, while in Columbus, I sing the praises of Skybus and how it must be the greatest thing since Hello Kitty or Nachos.

This is where I went wrong. Or, another way to put it: Karma is a bitch.

The flight back from Columbus OH, to Greensboro, NC was a little different. Here is what actually transpired:

This is from an actual note that I sent to a couple folks to keep them informed of my situation. My flight was supposed to leave Columbus at 6 am on Monday so that I could be back in the office by 8ish. Note: This flight did not have the fancy new orange skybus aircraft:

"I am still in ohio...been sitting on the tarmac since 5:30 am...issues w the emergency lights. Some FAA thing about safety...yada, yada, yada...we are still in Columbus.
So...I will be in the office a wee bit later than expected. LOL.
The people are very nice though. And...I am close to the cockpit so I get to hear 5 men stand around talking about the problem, but I don't see anyone with a screwdriver or a lightbulb to fix the problem.

So...i got that going for me...hahaha.

Wait...announcement...

Oh goodie...

This is an old plane..."odd ball aircraft" to quote the captain. They are getting one new aircraft per month, but this one has a configuration they are not familiar with.

I feel very safe right now. (sarcasm)

I am going to use the bathroom near the cockpit (yes, I just like saying that word) so I can hear more.

I'll keep you posted.
Kathy "someday i'll fly" Crowley"

Sometime later:
"Ok...now the flight attendant is re-explaining the issue to 3 new people in suits (again...no one with a screwdriver) and they have pulled the 10 pound binder from the shelf marked "skybus flight attendant manual" to review.

I am sure the answer is in there.

Wait...announcement....

Captain says "meeting of the minds" has occurred and we are getting ready to take off.

I guess the answer really was in the manual.

Wow. Props to the lowest paid employee of Skybus for fixing the issue."

Frankly, I think it just got light enough outside so that we didn't need emergency lights after all.

Moral of the story: Cheaper is not always better.

or

Moral of the story: Never underestimate the lowest paid person in a situation.

hmmmm

Moral of the story: Don't fly with KC, you never know what will happen.