***Update, I read the original article wrong to say that the airline flies to Cleveland, as a commenter pointed out it is actually Columbus, which outside of Ohio State University and MLS’ Columbus Crew, has less reason to travel there than Cleveland. The destination may change, the points about investing in low-fair airlines and using corporate incentives remain.
I know the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is probably pretty neat and the Indians just made a good run into the baseball playoffs, and that LeBron James guy is pretty good, but it’s still Cleveland.
That’s not stopping Gov. Easley from giving $3.9 million of your tax dollars to a low-cost airline to operate out of Greensboro’s PTI airport and fly only to its hub in Cleveland, OH. (Go to its web site and click your starting city as Greensboro, your only destination choice is Cleveland.)
Now, I dabble a little in stocks and investments and somebody once told me, "Never own an airline stock for any reason." Good advice considering four of the major US carriers have all declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the last five years.
And do any of these companies sound familiar?
Song
Hooters Air
Independence Air
Midway Airlines
Air South
America West
ValuJet
Tower Air
These are a few of the 19 "low-cost" airlines that are now defunct. And that doesn’t include the other 17 "low-cost" airlines already in service.
If the state is going to give away my tax dollars to private companies, at least invest in companies that have some sort of track record of success. The airline industry is not exactly a model of profits and stability.
Unfortunately, their hub is in Columbus, not Cleveland. Columbus is even less exciting than what we used to call “The Mistake on the Lake.”
The business plan of this airline seems to be lacking. Take a look some text from their website.
“Currently, Skybus does not offer any connecting flights (for example, from Los Angeles through Columbus to Boston)
Please note: It’s possible to create your own multi-point Trip through our Columbus hub, but we don’t recommend it.”
So, let me get this straight. We are giving $3.9 million dollars so that we can go to Columbus. And nowhere else. Not, say, to exciting places like Milwaukee, where we could at least get a cold malt beverage. Or perhaps New Orleans, where we could see our federal tax money at work. In fact, they recommend that we make sure NOT to fly somewhere else through Columbus. Alllrighty then…
Check out http://ask.skybus.com/about/where-we-fly.shtml to see what you think.
All I can say is that I’m sure glad that Mike Easley is not MY personal financial advisor.
Chris, “THE” Ohio State University is actually one more reason to avoid Columbus. GO BLUE!