February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The airline plans to fly from Newark and Boston into Shannon. A provisional schedule provided by the company would see passengers flying out of Newark every Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday and out of Boston on Saturdays and Wednesdays.
How much? A one-way midweek ticket will cost $199 if booked online at the company’s web site, www.skynetairline.com. Customers will be able to book flights using Skynet’s web site from April 2.
“There’s really nothing cheaper out of Newark,” said Gerry Ryan, vice president of Sceptre Ireland, which will handle bookings for Skynet.
“This will be a full service airline and will offer connecting flights from Shannon to Belfast, Cork and Dublin. It is very competitive. Skynet has been planning this launch for a long time,” he said.
Ryan added that the airline does not plan to compete directly with Aer Lingus.
Skynet also offers flights to Amsterdam, Moscow and Minsk, which means that when the U.S.-Shannon route is up and running it could be possible to fly from Newark to Moscow with Skynet, touching down at Shannon.
The airline will fly passengers across the Atlantic using wide-bodied Boeing 767-200s with 251 seats including a business class section.
Skynet found the airline market depressed after the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks, and saw an opening for a low-priced air service between Ireland and Russia. The airline was founded by 20 U.S. and Irish investors in 2002.
Under an arrangement with Aeroflot that allows Skynet to share flight codes, the midget airline is making six flights a week. A round trip from Shannon to Moscow and back costs about $400 economy.
“We can say this is a real airline that knows how to fly, its financial situation is getting better and we are positive about its opportunities in the UK, Europe and the United States,” Aeroflot CFO Alexander Zurabov said at a 2003 meeting with Skynet officials at Shannon airport.
He said the number of passengers on the Moscow-Amsterdam segment have jumped 48 percent since Skynet took over the route in June 2002. Aeroflot’s revenue on the route has increased by $1.3 million, he said, declining to disclose the profit.
There is a $25 booking fee with Skynet and bookings can be made by phone at (800) 495-1679.