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Or maybe it’s just Skybus Airlines.   The demise of Skybus Airlines which was based in Columbus was news last week… into this week.

Last week Friday I had a comment on one of my Columbus blogs from a family member of someone who lost his job wanting Columbus to boycott the business.  I could not tell if it was a prank.  The reason the Grandview based business dismissed the employee was because the business  could not afford to pay the employee…   Gee I’d hate to see an economic boycott of a local company force more employees out on the street.  It is a very competitive business.

If the news of 450 Skybus employees hitting the streets of Columbus looking for employment wasn’t so fresh in my brain… I might not read of one person losing his job and the call for a boycott of the business is critically.

A friend emailed me a link to  a comment left on her blog about a new Central Ohio neighborhood.  The Powell neighborhood is under construction.  The person who left the comment is bad mouthing the developer and the neighborhood  because the neighborhood is still under construction eight months after he/she closed…  Not a particularly good move if you want to motivate people to buy in your neighborhood.

These people used to have to send a letter to the editor to vent their spleen now they have the internet…

Happy April 7th! it is “the 75th Anniversary of the re-legalization of the manufacture and sales of beer and wine” according to the Columbus Beer Wench.

Thanks to Tina of Green Buckeye for mentioning the Columbus Beer Wench site… when Tina wrote about green beer for St. Patrick’s Day. A different kind of green…

Here’s to Anheuser Busch… I smell the brewery in Columbus sometimes., depending on the way the wind blows Here’s to Miller from Milwaukee where I was born… Here’s to PBR… when I was a kid my Grandfather drove a Pabst Blue Ribbon delivery truck in Chicago… here’s to Point Beer a favorite from college, actually I don’t believe I ever met a beer I did not like in college.

Today’s an anniversary for wine too… Visit the Columbus Beer Wench site for the history of the re-legalization of beer and wine… come the end of this year we can celebrate the re-legalization of hard liquor to.

Happy April 7th… Columbus Beer Drinkers…

Happy April 7th to Dave of Dave’s Beer…

Skybus is filing bankruptcy today…

“Aircrew Buzz” a travel industry site says the clues were there before Friday and of course they were, they were possibly easier to see from outside Columbus. Those in the industry seem to have some info we did not hear about from the local news…

Was it high fuel costs, as the Skybus website said on Friday? Four airlines folded last week. Or was Skybus murdered? For what it’s worth I would have bet it was Colonel Mustard in the drawing room with the candlestick….

A travel blog Elliot written by Chris Elliot said:

“Who killed Skybus Airlines? Here’s the surprising answer”

Was it Miss Management with a knife in the boardroom?

“The former Skybus manager says one executive in particular was to blame for poor morale. The executive, my source continues, had only one main concern: “Hire young pretty flight attendants with big boobs, and do not hire anyone fat.”

Was it snotty bloggers? Bloggers… lots of travel bloggers including Chris Elliott were very critical of the Skybus customer service or lack there of…Was Skybus’ death by it’s own hand?

Or was it Skybus itself with a rope in the hanger? Did Skybus commit suicide because the pilots wanted to unionize? Both Elliot.org and Aircrew Buzz mention the pilots wanted to unionize.

The Skybus Airlines website said of the 10 month old airline:

“Skybus Airlines will cease all operations effective Saturday, April 5.

Skybus struggled to overcome the combination of rising jet fuel costs and a slowing economic environment. These two issues proved to be insurmountable for a new carrier.

We deeply regret the impact this decision will have on our employees and their families, customers, vendors, suppliers, airport officials and others in the cities in which we have operated. Our financial condition is such that our Board of Directors felt it had no choice but to cease operations.

Passengers holding reservations for Skybus flights scheduled to depart on or after Saturday, April 5, 2008 should contact their credit card companies to arrange to apply for a refund. More information for customers and others will be made available on the Skybus web site (www.skybus.com) as it becomes available.

All flights for Friday, April 4 will be completed. Passengers holding reservations on flights for Friday, April 4 should check in for their flight at a Skybus kiosk at the airport instead of the Skybus website. “

The Aircrew Buzz article Skybus Airlines Folds

I did not remember that I knew about Skybus or wrote about it on the original Columbus Best Blog in 2006.

Feb. 24, 2006 - Planes, Trains and Automobiles:

“The top story in today’s Columbus Dispatch Business section had news of a new LCC, Skybus Airlines, moving closer to starting up operations. The new airline has gained financing from several well-known organizations in the Columbus area, such as the Dispatch’s owners, Wolfe Enterprises.”

“The airline is shooting for a Fall 2006 date for their first flight. They plan to serve new destinations that are not currently served non-stop from Columbus. It is mentioned in the article, west coast cities are a high priority for Skybus.”

” Analysts are skeptical about starting a brand new carrier in the current state of the airline industry.”

Port Columbus - When pigs fly The Columbus based airline opened in 2007, and failed 10 months later, with the last day of operation Friday April 4, 2008.

I also mentioned Skybus when BlogTour USA hit Central Ohio last year…

Worthington - The Bus Stops Here!

Did you ever fly on Skybus?

I never did.

The Skybus Airlines site says:

 ”Skybus Airlines will cease all operations effective Saturday, April 5.

Skybus struggled to overcome the combination of rising jet fuel costs and a slowing economic environment. These two issues proved to be insurmountable for a new carrier.

We deeply regret the impact this decision will have on our employees and their families, customers, vendors, suppliers, airport officials and others in the cities in which we have operated. Our financial condition is such that our Board of Directors felt it had no choice but to cease operations.

Passengers holding reservations for Skybus flights scheduled to depart on or after Saturday, April 5, 2008 should contact their credit card companies to arrange to apply for a refund. More information for customers and others will be made available on the Skybus web site (www.skybus.com) as it becomes available.

All flights for Friday, April 4 will be completed. Passengers holding reservations on flights for Friday, April 4 should check in for their flight at a Skybus kiosk at the airport instead of the Skybus website. “

This Columbus redhead has no beef with the Wendy’s logo… perhaps many have no idea I have red hair… I don’t have the usual Realtor penchant for plastering my face and the mop that sits on top of it everywhere… but I do have a photo of me on MaureenMcCabe.com and on ActiveRain (a real estate social network) and I do have red hair.

Redheads protest Wendy’s Logo
Maybe I am not joining in the protest against the innacurate depiction of redheads…

because Wendy’s is local… based in Dublin Ohio.

because I have so much respect for Dave Thomas.

because at my roots I am really not a true redhead.

Last summer when I tried to go lighter red I put my hair in pigtails…  trying to look like the  Wendy’s logo… but my friends did not get it.  Really I would rather look like the Wendy’s logo than Ronald McDonald.

Yes I do come by the pasty skin naturally and given some sun I will freckle… so maybe I am really a redhead at heart…

Thanks to  Chris Griffith of Bonita Springs Florida (Chris grew up in NE Ohio) for tweeting the protest video.  It is funny.