Times Staff Report

A Skybus Airlines' evening flight from Greensboro, N.C., to Gary was canceled heading into one of the busiest travel weekends of the season.

Thursday evening's flight was grounded due to mechanical problems, according to Skybus spokesman Bob Tenenbaum.

The airline flies two round-trip flights per day from Greensboro to Gary. One departs Gary at 10:05 a.m. for Greensboro and the other at 8:04 p.m.

Skybus announced earlier this week the morning flight will be eliminated as of April 15 and the evening Gary departure will be moved up to 4:23 p.m. The airline blamed soaring fuel prices for the reduction in flights, as well as flight reductions on a number of other routes.

Passengers on Thursday's canceled flight had the choice of re-booking on the next flight, subject to seat availability, re-booking on any other Skybus flight, or taking a refund, Tenenbaum said.

Tickets for this weekend's Skybus flights as of Friday were priced between $135 and $205, according to its on-line reservations Web site. Skybus uses a "bucket" system where the first 10 seats sell for $10 and then prices graduate to higher levels as seats are filled.

Skybus CEO Bill Diffenderffer recently said the airline wants to improve its on-time performance, and that this week's schedule adjustments were a part of that effort.