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Skybus may have taken the Triad's pride, but in the end, the bankrupt airline did not take away much of the region's incentive money.

Preliminary figures show that the region has recouped all but $40,000 of the incentives paid to recruit the airline, airport officials say.

However, a court document filed Monday lists Skybus' debt to Piedmont Triad International Airport at $130,000. The difference between those numbers could not be reconciled through interviews Monday.

But whatever the number, it represents a fraction of the up to $57 million promised last year to recruit the discount airline's hub, said Henry Isaacson, chairman of the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority.

Before Skybus declared bankruptcy and ceased operations Friday, PTI and the region had spent $1.32 million to get it running here, including:

* $520,000 from Triad communities for marketing

* $300,000 from PTI for marketing

* $500,000 from PTI in terminal improvements that included chairs and stairways sending passengers to the tarmac level.

Balancing that was income from Skybus of $1.27 million that included rent, passenger parking fees and possibly other concessions, Isaacson said.

"If we'd had them another month or two we would have reached the break-even point," he said.

The airport had promised $2.15 per passenger as an incentive for Skybus, but none of that money was paid before the airline stopped operations.

Isaacson has already started trying to persuade Allegiant Air to return to the airport. The small airline that flew seven weekly flights to Florida destinations is to end service May 31 at PTI.

"I've invited them to come back to PTI but they've made no commitment," he said.

Bankruptcy documents filed Saturday show that Skybus owes $13.5 million to its top 20 unsecured creditors — companies who lent money to the airline without collateral — and at least

$50 million overall after filing for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Efforts Monday to reach Mike Hodge, the Skybus CEO, and the company's attorneys were unsuccessful.

The documents, which listed ranges rather than specific numbers, show Skybus:

* has assets of between $100 million and $500 million

* has more than 200 creditors, according to court records

* owes the most money, $8.5 million, to its fuel supplier, World Fuel Services

* owes $1.9 million to the maker of its planes, Airbus North America

* owes $200,000 to the Columbus Regional Airport Authority at its home base.

Isaacson is disappointed in the loss of Skybus, which accounted for a 41 percent jump in passengers for February alone over last year.

But he said he'd work up another big incentive package to recruit a similar airline "in a heartbeat."

Until one comes along, he said the region's economy will have to grow so it can attract one of the more stable discount carriers.

"As we grow, then we become more attractive to low-fare carriers," Isaacson said. "That's what I think it's going to take and we're getting there. The Skybus experience, although it's sort of bittersweet today, the sweet part is that it did attract passengers from not only North Carolina but from our sister states as well.

"It was one of those things that proved to me that low-fare service will attract passengers from all over."

Business leaders say the Triad came out ahead in its encounter with Skybus.

"I believe that strongly," said Pat Danahy, president and chief executive officer of the Greensboro Partnership. "Its failure had nothing to do with it being located in the Triad. ... The publicity and exposure we got (as a Skybus hub) far outweighs the cost."

Court documents blamed the company's demise on various cost increases, including higher fuel prices and an economy that has significantly reduced travel demand.

"Skybus was suffering losses and determined by January 2008 that with its present cost structure, it was unable to operate its business at a profit," court papers said.

The documents added that the company undertook various cost reduction programs, which resulted in reduced fuel costs and the elimination of unprofitable routes.

Even so, the documents said, "Skybus would continue to suffer operational losses, its estate would be diminished and it would ultimately become unable to pay its debts as they mature."

Court filings also show that the company owes about $1.1 million in unpaid wages, about $50,000 to about 50 employees stranded away from home because of the shutdown and about $2.5 million in unpaid federal ticket taxes.

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

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