Low-Cost, Lower-Cost, Lowest-Cost
Posted by Tihomir Rangelov - 01/02/10 at 01:02:36 pm
EasyJet and Ryanair revolutionized flying in Europe with their low-cost models.
The end of the 20th century saw the boom of low-cost airlines, especially in Europe and the USA. These airlines changed the industry forever. Flying is no longer a luxury, which a few people can afford. Today many Europeans fly to London, Berlin or Prague just for a Saturday night out. Besides, these airlines triggered a general reduction of prices, better competition between carriers and increasing passenger numbers. This revolution has however mostly been restricted to flying within the same continent and long-haul flights are still somewhat taken only when one has a good reason and they generally cost a fortune.
Low-cost carriers usually base their business on providing fewer “luxuries” than traditional airlines. You could expect not to get free meals and entertainment systems and to book your tickets by yourself on the Internet. Departure and arrival times might sometimes be at weird hours of the night, but that makes it possible to keep airplanes in the skies, where they generate income for the airline, rather than on the ground. This model works well for short flights, but some of its advantages (such as the maximum usage of aircraft and landing at smaller and cheaper airports) are hard to make use of for long-haul flights. Yet, a lot og people are prepared to sacrifice a few conveniences in order to get a cheaper ticket to visit a place faraway.
The idea of low-cost long-haul flights is in fact nothing new. A groundbreaking airline, Laker Airways, offered no-frill service between New York and London between 1977 and 1982, when it went bankrupt. Since then many airlines have exploited the idea and many have failed. The past couple of years though see a boom in new and old low-cost carriers plying long-haul routes and planning new ones. The boom was also boosted by the financial crisis, which saw a sharp decline in business class travel and other luxurious travel services. Besides, new aircraft such as the Airbus A380 and the Boeing Dreamliner offer lower operational costs for long-haul flights.Most such airlines currently link mostly big cities such as London and New York. Flights between the US west coast and some big cities in Asia are also popular routes for low cost carriers.
Some European no-frill airlines such as Condor, Air Berlin, Eurofly, Air Comet and Arkefly mostly operate routes from their bases in Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands to popular tourist destinations in the Caribbean, Africa, South America and even Nepal. Densely populated countries in Asia, such as India and Malaysia, have also seen the introduction of low-cost flights to Europe and North America, operated by Jet Airways and Air Asia X. From Australia you can find cheap flights mostly to Asia but also some to the USA and new destinations are constantly added. Some carriers make use of a convenient short stopover (only carrying the fuel for a long flight makes the flight itself more expensive). Iceland Express, for example, has announced flights to New York and Winnipeg starting in the summer. Passengers will be able to easily connect in Iceland to a variety of European destinations.
Some of the airlines that advertise themselves as low-cost, especially ones flying on long-distance routes, do not always sacrifice all of the services described above. Some even have a business class and thus resemble traditional airlines. At the same time the latter are pressed by the competition and often offer good deals as well. This way the fine line between low-cost and traditional carriers is more often than not hard to see these days. In order to get the best deal, passengers need to compare prices. And there is no better way to do that than to use dohop.com.
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