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Skybus Airlines stunned — and stranded — travelers when it ceased operations early today and said it would file for bankruptcy protection Monday.

The move angered travelers and shocked local businesspeople who had embraced the low-cost airline and its potential for boosting traffic at Piedmont Triad International Airport.

"I am personally saddened by this news," said Henry Isaacson, chairman of the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority. "I am saddened for the people of the Triad. My goal was to provide them with low-fare airline service, and as of this moment, that has failed."

When Skybus began flights to its home base of Columbus, Ohio, in May, it was the first deep-discount airline at PTI since AirTran Airways pulled its flights in 2004.

Before Skybus, PTI had some of the highest fares in the nation, and passenger traffic dropped steadily by the month.

That situation is likely to return. Anthony Tangorra, an airline analyst from New York, said Friday night that the demise of Skybus and other discount airlines could have an impact nationwide.

He said Skybus made a bad choice in Columbus as its home base because too many other airlines compete there. Greensboro, he said, was a good market for the airline.

But he added another factor for its demise: $104 a barrel oil prices.

"That's why I'm so disappointed," Tangorra said. "I know this model can work in the United States, and they made some bad choices, and fuel is what it is, and that led to their demise."

Skybus' decision to close put about 100 Skybus employees — mostly pilots and flight attendants — out of work in Greensboro and forced hundreds of passengers to make alternate flight arrangements.

Brad Sherman, a second-year medical student at Virginia Tech, was ready to go to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Friday night with fellow students for a medical conference when he learned the flight was canceled.

"We drove down here, and they gave us no forewarning," he said. "They easily could have said this is going to happen."

Airline officials blamed soaring fuel costs and a sour economy.

"These two issues proved to be insurmountable for a new carrier," Michael Hodge, Skybus' chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement. "We deeply regret this decision and the impact this will have on our employees and their families, our customers, our vendors and other partners and the communities in which we have been operating."

John Weikle, who founded Skybus and wrote its business plan, said in an interview Friday night that he was in a movie theater when he started getting phone calls.

"I was just as shocked as anybody else," he said.

Weikle, who lives in Dayton, Ohio, recruited investors and board members, but he left at the airline's startup last year because he did not agree with the board's choice of Bill Diffenderffer as its first chief executive officer.

"Bill Diffenderffer was not my choice for the CEO," Weikle said. "That was the board's choice. He had no airline operations experience whatsoever, and the board and I disagreed over that."

Diffenderffer could not be reached for comment Friday.

"I just feel so badly for the 450 employees of Skybus," Weikle said. "And for my daughter who worked there." His 29-year-old daughter worked in human resources for Skybus.

The Skybus announcement comes as a dual blow for PTI. Last week, the airport's other low-cost carrier, Allegiant Air, said it would pull out of the Triad on May 31.

When Skybus announced its hub here, it was unfurled with tremendous fanfare. Gov. Mike Easley made the announcement at the airport, and businesspeople lined up to tout the airline's virtues.

Skybus said then it would employ up to 375 people at PTI and invest $350 million in planes and equipment. In return, Triad counties and cities promised an incentives package worth up to $57 million based on Skybus hitting passenger benchmarks.

Skybus flew 24,091 passengers from PTI in February, helping the airport to post a 30 percent growth in passenger boardings for January and February compared with the first two months of 2007.

It could not immediately be determined how many passengers would be affected by the airline's decision to shut down. Skybus had scheduled flights through Sept. 2.

Many of those who flew out of PTI on Friday no doubt scheduled return flights via Skybus.

Doug Woods of Charlotte met his sister, Roberta Bibbins of Wilmington, at PTI on Friday night for a flight to Fort Myers, Fla., to see their mother.

About 8:30 p.m., a Skybus employee announced that the company was ceasing operations but the flight to Florida would fly anyway. The airline employee advised that only Florida residents should take it.

"I had already paid to check my bag, and now I don't have my bag," Woods said. "We are wondering if we are going to get our money back. ... I guess you get what you pay for."

Said Bibbins, "A person at the gate said, 'I know as much as you know.' Apparently, the employees were as surprised as us. Many of them seemed upset."

As of Friday, Skybus operated 16 flights out of PTI, but that number was scheduled to drop to 11 a day on April 15.

That cut in flights — announced March 18 — was the first indication Skybus had encountered operational problems. From there, the airline went into a dramatic tailspin.

On March 24, the Skybus board of directors severed ties with CEO Diffenderffer and replaced him with Hodge, the airline's 35-year-old chief financial officer. On March 27, Hodge hedged his bets when asked if the airline would be flying a year from now.

"I don't know how to handicap that," he said in an interview.

On Thursday, Bud Sittig, the company's vice president of operations, announced that he was quitting, saying he was "out of step" with the actions of the airline.

Skybus began operating May 22. At the time it ceased flying, it was operating 11 aircraft, making 80 daily flights to 15 cities across the U.S. Four of those planes were stationed at PTI.

Isaacson said Friday that PTI has not given up on attracting a low-fare airline.

"The airport authority will continue to pursue low-cost carriers ... and will pursue them aggressively," he said in a prepared statement. "We believe that is the best way for us to improve air service for our entire community."

Staff writer Ryan Seals contributed to this report.

Contact Donald W. Patterson at 373-7027 or don.patterson@news-record.com

Contact Richard M. Barron at 373-7371 or richard.barron@news-record.com