time, but its pilots are now represented by ALPA). However, it was facing a union organizing campaign from its pilots, who had collected enough signatures to hold a union referendum. The pilots were seeking to join Local 747 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, based in Houston, Texas. Because of the number of signatures collected, it was presumed that the campaign would be successful. The election would have most likely occurred sometime in April 2008. Successful unionization could have severely undermined Skybus's below-market compensation philosophy and laid the framework for union activity among other Skybus employee groups. (Note that there is precedent for unionized pilots with most other employee groups remaining non-union, as is the case at Delta Air Lines.) Ancillary revenue While cutting costs was a high priority for Skybus, revenue was their primary focus. Skybus aircraft were outfitted as flying gift shops, selling soda, food, perfumes, handbags, jewelry, watches, clothing, and toiletries. Customers could purchase these items duty-free on board the aircraft. Seen in this photo is a flight attendant during the gift sales portion of a flight. Advertisements could also be seen throughout the cabin and exterior. This could include overhead bins, carpet, tray tables, and full-body exterior advertisements (see below). The price for interior advertisements was not released, though a company who purchased a full-body advertisement could also buy all interior advertisements for a small increase in price. A complete list of where advertisements were to be placed was not released. Shutdown and bankruptcy Soon after the departures of several top managers, on April 4, 2008, Skybus announced they were shutting down all flight operations. The airline also said it would seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. A statement on its website regarding the shutdown said that "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." Skybus was the fourth United States-based airline to shut down or announce future plans to shut down the week of March 31, 2008, following Aloha Airlines' passenger operations, ATA Airlines and charter airline Champion Air. At the time of the shutdown, Skybus employed about 450 people, mostly in the Columbus, Ohio, area. Almost all were immediately laid off. Passengers were also left stranded before they could complete their round trip flights. Port Columbus did not face harsh losses from the airline's shutdown, because