“Low-cost airline… What is it? - many novice travelers will ask. - How can they help us in planning the itinerary? Should I use their services?”
Let's try to figure it out together, because it is these budget companies that make flights from one part of the world to another affordable not only for the rich, but also for passengers of average, and sometimes even low material we alth.
What do low-cost companies offer?
It is unlikely that anyone would dare to deny the fact that air travel plays a huge role in the modern world. And this, perhaps, is not surprising.
The high speed of movement in space is highly valued today. However, the reasonable cost of air tickets is no less important. That is why a question like “Low-cost airline - what is it?” should not even occur today. You should not only know about the existence of such companies, but also actively use their services.
The desire to increase the number of passengers who use air transport led American companies in the second half of the 20th century to develop the concept that a flight could be made at a minimal cost. Howway? By refusing additional passenger services.
From the USA, the concept of low-cost penetrated first to Europe and then to other parts of the world.
Originally, the term "low-cost airlines" referred to organizations whose operating cost structure was comparatively lower relative to competitors.
Today, this definition applies to various carriers offering a limited range of passenger services. By the way, when answering the question: “Low-cost airline … what is it?” - do not take into account regional companies operating on short flights with limited service.
Characteristic features of this kind of transportation
To imagine what the business model of these companies consists of, you need to find out what distinguishes it from others.
For example, Aeroflot's low-cost airline, like any other company in the world, has the following characteristics:
- All passenger seats belong to the same class.
- As a rule, these airlines use one type of aircraft in order to reduce the costs required to maintain various types of equipment and train personnel.
- Application of a simplified ticket payment scheme. Today, electronic tickets are widely used. Low-cost carriers promote them via the Internet. This means that you can book a flight in the presence of the World Wide Web, being or living in any corner of the globe.
- Organization of transportation is carried out in such a way as to ensure the operation of insufficientbusy runways. Why? The thing is that these airports have lower fees, so it becomes possible to reduce various kinds of costs.
- Intensive exploitation of technical facilities (an aircraft makes several flights in one day, which seemed impossible a couple of decades ago).
- Direct flights preferred.
- The set of services is usually abbreviated.
- Optimize the work of airline employees by performing several functions at once.
The history of the emergence and formation of low-cost airlines
The idea of budget transportation has always been attractive. Decisions were made to increase the number of seats in aircraft. The carriers used the old aircraft with the new logo.
The intensification of the use of winged vehicles sometimes became so high that downtime on the ground was practically reduced to zero.
The first low cost airline in the US is Southwest Airlines. It should be noted that European low-cost airlines have already learned from her.
Initially, she carried out transportation in the state of Texas. At that time, the company could not organize relocations to other states due to the prohibition of existing laws. To increase the popularity of flights, charming girls were attracted as flight attendants. Uniforms emphasized their amazing appearance and flawless figure.
In Europe, the first company of this kind was Ryanair. She began carrying passengers in 1985, but howa real budget low-cost airline began to operate in 1998. This was due to the abolition of preferences for national air carriers.
It is interesting to note that low-cost airlines currently operate in all parts of the world except Antarctica. Since 2012, this type of air carrier has existed even in Africa, and in the Philippines, almost 65% of passengers travel by air with low-cost airlines.
Are there any drawbacks to this type of transportation?
Today there are so many budget companies that they are forced to compete with each other. In this regard, some of them began to attract passengers by offering first-class conditions, satellite TV, of course, for an additional fee.
In the UK, the problem of deliberate underestimation of the advertised airfare is actively discussed - the declared price, as a rule, does not include taxes and fees. All additional payments are not refundable if the flight is canceled due to the fault of the company. The fact that hand luggage is subject to a high fine is also criticized if it is found to exceed the weight allowed by the rules. By the way, Asian low-cost airlines also practice this.
Why are there so few budget airlines in Russia
In Russia, too, there have been attempts to properly organize low-cost airlines.
In 2006, Sky Express Corporation began to function within the framework of the budgetary tariff policy. At that time, the cost of any ticket was 500 rubles.
In 2009, Avianovadetermined the cost of the ticket at 250 rubles. But for a long time they could not work on such conditions. The reasons for abandoning the business model of the budgetary company were that it was not possible to increase the volume of traffic in such a way as to reach the required indicators. The fleet of aircraft in these companies was small, so there were constant problems with flight delays. Due to the fact that the cost of servicing the liners began to increase, the companies were forced to cease to exist.
It is impossible not to note purely technical points. A serious problem for the development of low-cost transportation in Russia has become a model of manual control, while this type of transportation involves the automation of all processes to provide passengers with a minimum set of services. Quick repairs, timely receipt of the required spare parts, the availability of transport support for remote airports, the ability to quickly service aircraft that spend the minimum amount of time at the airport - all this is quite problematic in Russia. In addition, Russian officials do not have the skill to make quick decisions in response to proposals from budget companies.
The duties on foreign cars introduced by the government of our country also played a role, and did not allow low-cost carriers to significantly reduce costs to the level required for normal development.
And the complexity of Russian laws creates obstacles to the development of airlines offering passengers only the necessary services and inexpensive tickets. Given all of the above, it becomes clear why the statements: “Low-cost airline? What's this?Cheap tickets? No, that doesn't happen! - are asked most often in Russia, but in Europe or, say, in the USA, such services are the norm
Dobrolet is a modern Russian carrier
In August 2013, Aeroflot's Board of Directors decided to develop the Dobrolet low-cost airline. Vladimir Gorbunov, who previously headed Avianova, became its leader.
It is planned that the company will initially fly 8 aircraft. By 2018, the aircraft fleet is expected to expand to 40.
All additional services - only for a fee. Check-in for the flight will be carried out via the Internet. The planned cost of tickets is 40% lower than the average fare of a classic Russian airline.
The route network involves moving from Moscow to St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Ufa, Perm, Kaliningrad, Samara, Tyumen, Krasnodar and back from these cities to Moscow.
Wizz Air is the main low-cost airline in Ukraine, Poland, Hungary
Hungarian-Polish air transportation company has been operating in Ukraine since 2008. In 2013, it operated only one domestic route, Kyiv-Simferopol.
Wizz Air is trying to enter the Russian market, but this process is difficult due to the rather stringent requirements imposed by Rosaviatsia. Aeroflot's low-cost airline is perhaps the only, albeit domestic, company that has been able to stay there for a long time.
However, Wizz Air does notabandons plans to increase traffic and expand their geography.
Finnair is Finland's largest airline
It should be noted that Finnair is considered the safest in Europe. Not a single emergency has been recorded since 1963. Russian low-cost airlines, as well as many other organizations of this kind, should learn from her.
Finnair's origin dates back to 1924. Today it is a stable company.
Passenger rewards programs, a special class for children, lounge management all contribute to the rise in popularity. According to 2012 data, the airline's traffic amounted to 9 million people.
Air Arabia - Arab low-cost airline
The first major carrier in the Middle East is Air Arabia. Today it provides transportation services to 76 countries around the world. The headquarters is located 15 km from the center of Dubai.
In 2007, Air Arabia established another base, this time in Nepal's capital. The difficult economic and political situation in this region contributed to the fact that the company's activities had to be temporarily suspended.
In 2009, Air Arabia created a new company in Egypt, which was supposed to be based in Alexandria. The growth in passenger and cargo traffic, the expansion of the range of paid additional services, various entertainment systems - just what low-cost airlines in Russia can envy.
Air Arabia is implementing all of this in stages,achieving stability in work.
Qantas Airways is Australia's largest airline
"Flying Kangaroo" is the nickname of Qantas Airways. It is one of the oldest organizations whose shares can be bought and sold on the ASX.
In 2007, this company was ranked 3rd in the world by Skytrax research. The company's net profit in 2005-2006 financial year amounted to 350 billion 45 million dollars. International and domestic shipments are very popular.
By the way, Qantas Airways is considered the safest in the world, as its jets have never had an accident.
Kingfisher Red is India's first low cost carrier
Frequent travelers know that Kingfisher Red is based in Bangalore.
It has been operating for quite a long time, and the first flight to Hubballi from Bangalore was made in 2003. Founder G. R. Gopinath aspired to create a company that could provide every Indian with the opportunity to take air travel.
Today, this Kingfisher Red is actively competing with GoAir, Indigo, SpiceJet. As a result of this competition, passengers benefit as airfare prices decline.
