Southern Skyways Cancels Cincinnati Flight but Retains Beach Route

DAILY MAIL BUSINESS EDITOR

Discount charter airline Southern Skyways has canceled the Cincinnati-Charleston leg of its charter service but still plans to launch service Friday linking Charleston and Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Yeager Airport Director Rick Atkinson, reached this morning at a conference in Phoenix, said, "For every five tickets sold in Charleston, one ticket was sold in Cincinnati. It's disappointing the Cincinnati portion didn't work out but you go with market demand."

When Southern Skyways begins flying Friday, it will use a 34 passenger Fairchild Dornier Do328 jet aircraft rather than the aircraft that was originally announced: a 148-passenger Boeing 737. The change in aircraft is noted on Southern Skyways' Website.

It's a smaller aircraft but it's still a jet," Atkinson said. "A lot of the flights are sold out."

"The aircraft is probably smaller than what the market could use, given it's already sold out on a lot of the dates," he said. "A 50-seat aircraft probably would have been the perfect size and it may have worked out that a 70-seat aircraft would work, too. But they're just not available at a price the company can lease and make the fares work."

"Everything's a go here (at Yeager)," Atkinson said.

Southern Skyways actually has two trips scheduled from Charleston to Myrtle Beach on Monday, which is the Memorial Day holiday, because so many booked that day, Atkinson said.

The airline has been running advertisements offering an introductory fare. Customers who leave Charleston Monday and return on Monday, June 4, can buy one $99 ticket get a second ticket free.

Southern Skyways spokesman Cary Evans could not immediately be reached for comment. Evans told the Cincinnati Enquirer that lackluster bookings were to blame for cancellation of the charter service to and from Cincinnati.

Contact writer George Hohmann at or 348-4836.

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