Aloha, Skybus Airlines, ATA shutdown operations

5 April, 2008:

After Aloha and ATA, Skybus Airlines is the third US airline to shut down its passenger flights in one week. ATA and Aloha Airlines had announced shutdowns in the first week of April 2008.

Blaming it all on a combination of rising jet fuel costs and a slowing economic environment, Skybus said that the two issues were more than enough for it to take the decision. Skybus Airlines, which started operations in 2004 will go off booking charts from April 5, 2008. The shutdown news was provided to passengers through a single sheet of paper posted at an empty ticket counter at the Los Angeles Airport. Flyers who had come for the three scheduled daily flights from Los Angeles to Hawaii were left stunned as they scrambled to make alternative arrangements.

However, Skybus said all scheduled flights would be completed, and added that passenges with reservations for April 5, 2008 and beyond were told to seek refunds from their credit card companies.

The other two carriers, ATA Airlines and Aloha Airlines, said they had to shut down as they were working through bankruptcy filings. The Indiana-based ATA, a low-cost charter carrier, has reportedly filed for Chapter 11 status as a result of financial problems following the loss of a key contract for its military charter business. The shutdown means the end of the road for the company which began operations way back in 1973. Meanwhile, Aloha Airlines, based out of Hawaii had also filed for bankruptcy protections in March 2008. The shutdown follows this move and brings to an end 61 years of operations.

Aloha has pointed out that it was unable to generate enough revenue from its inter-island passenger flights because of below-cost fares by competitors Mesa Air Group's go! airline. The company said it was forced to match the competitor's fares during an unprecedented increase in the cost of jet fuel.