Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
Former Skybus operators mull low-cost airline in Cincy
Officials at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport have been approached by Skybus Airlines’ former operators about launching a low-cost carrier there, but any such endeavor is far in the offing.
Airport spokesman Ted Bushelman said the founding members of Skybus have been trying to create a carrier called Jet America and are looking at airports in Ohio and surrounding states. In late August, the executives were reported to be looking in Springfield, Ohio.
“It’s all premature. It doesn’t really mean anything,” Bushelman said. “They’ve been here. We talked to him. But they’re no different than Southwest or Jet Blue or Jet Tran.”
The other three airlines, Bushelman said, meet with airport officials twice a year to discuss opportunities.
John Weikle, founder of Skybus, had originally planned to launch the low-cost startup at the Yeager Airport in Charleston, W.Va., in 2009, and was seeking to raise $40 million toward the endeavor. But the shutdown of Columbus-based Skybus in the spring grounded that effort, and roughly $2 million in investors’ money was returned, according to reports in the Charleston Gazette.
Bushelman said the airport board cannot offer any incentives to Jet America or any other airline, for that matter.
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