Skybus Announces $190 Million Investment in Columbus and Oklahoma City
New pilot training center at CMH and in-house maintenance base at OKC mark a major investment in the future of Skybus operations
COLUMBUS, Ohio, and OKLAHOMA CITY — November 11, 2026 — Skybus Virtual Airlines today announced a combined $190 million investment across two of its hubs. The plan includes a $150 million pilot training center at Columbus (CMH) and a $40 million maintenance facility at Oklahoma City (OKC) that will bring the airline's aircraft maintenance in house for the first time.
The two projects mark the largest investment in Skybus history. They come after a year in which the airline opened hubs in Oklahoma City and Nashville, grew its fleet to 33 aircraft and expanded its network to 87 airports across the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
A $150 million home for Skybus pilot training
The Skybus Training Center will be the airline's central base for new-hire, recurrent and upgrade training. It will serve both of the airline's type-rating families: the Airbus A319/A320/A321 and the Boeing 737-800/MAX 8.
Planned features include:
Full-flight simulator bays for the Airbus A320 family and the Boeing 737
Fixed-base procedure trainers for systems and flows practice
Classrooms and briefing rooms for ground school and Captain Upgrade courses
Crew lounges and rest facilities for pilots based at or passing through CMH
Today, Skybus pilots train through its Pathfinder crew center, where they complete an indoctrination exam, a family systems exam and a checkride before receiving a type rating. The new center will add a physical home for that program at CMH, the airline's East hub.
"Every Skybus pilot starts with training, and this investment says how seriously we take that," said Max McKoy, System Chief Pilot and Training Manager. "Columbus gives us room to train both fleets under one roof and to grow the pilot group as the network grows."
$40 million to bring maintenance in house at OKC
Skybus currently relies on outside providers for aircraft maintenance. The new $40 million maintenance facility at its Oklahoma City hub will let the airline perform that work with its own technicians.
The facility is planned to include:
A hangar able to hold two narrowbody aircraft at once
Line maintenance and scheduled checks for the Airbus and Boeing fleets
A central parts and tooling store serving all four hubs
Engineering and maintenance control offices
Bringing maintenance in house gives Skybus direct control over aircraft availability, turnaround times and quality standards across its 33-aircraft fleet. It also lets maintenance and flight operations work side by side at the same hub.
"Owning our maintenance means owning our reliability," said Nate Power, President "When an aircraft needs attention, our own team will be there to take care of it."
Why Columbus and Oklahoma City
Skybus operates four hubs: Salt Lake City in the West, Oklahoma City in the Center, Columbus in the East and Nashville in the South. Columbus gives the training center a home at the airline's East hub, close to crews and aircraft across the eastern network.
Oklahoma City anchors the Skybus network between East and West, so aircraft from every hub can reach the maintenance base without long positioning flights. Its location also opens the way to new markets in the South and the Caribbean.
"This is a major investment in the future of Skybus operations," said Jamal Pratt, Chief Executive Officer. "Training in Columbus and maintenance in Oklahoma City give us the foundation to keep growing."
Skybus will share construction timelines, opening dates and hiring plans for both facilities in future updates. Pilots can follow announcements in Pathfinder at crew.skybusva.com and on the Skybus Discord.
About Skybus Virtual
Skybus Virtual Airlines (SKB) is a virtual airline for flight simulator pilots on Microsoft Flight Simulator and X-Plane. Launched in May 2024, it operates 33 aircraft across four hubs and 87 airports, with more than 25,900 hours flown as of October 2026. Skybus partners with VATSIM, SayIntentions.AI and SL3 Simulations.
Where simulation meets reality.