Q: What's the story with this new airline called SkyBus with their $10

fares? I notice they don't have a telephone number, so I'm suspicious.

A:
SkyBus seems to be very well financed, unlike, for

instance, Independence Air, which went out of business a couple of

years ago, and one way they save money is to only provide bookings on

their site and not over the phone. Only a few seats are sold each day

at $10 one-way, but they are available if you're flexible, and

SkyBus's site makes the cheap seats very easy to find. Even their

"regular" fares are pretty reasonable, typically $30, $40, or $50 each

way, although some are higher during peak travel periods. Currently,

they fly only into Columbus, OH from cities such as Portsmouth, NH;

Richmond, VA; and San Francisco. SkyBus charges for everything except

using the lavatory. You'll pay $10 for "priority boarding" for

instance, which is handy since, like Southwest, seating is first come,

first served. The first two pieces of checked luggage cost $5 each.

And if you need to change your travel date, you'll pay $40 (which

isn't that bad compared to other airlines), but all fares are

non-refundable.