Travel Possibilities

Low Cost - High Fly

Low cost flying companies are airlines, which offer generally low fares in exchange for eliminating many traditional passenger services. Often you can buy the tickets only in the internet and not on direct sale. The flights are mostly short & commonly in the morning or late in the evening to avoid air traffic delays and take advantage of lower landing fees


By EWELINA KIERZKOWSKA
from Greifswald, GERMANY


People have always been dreaming about traveling and getting to know new countries. It pushed them to invent new means of transport such as a railway, a car or a plane , which could enable it. But nowadays it's not enough. People want to be all the time mobile, to travel quick, comfortable and cheap. That's why an idea of low cost flying companies has been born. The concept was originated in the United States.

The first successful low-cost carrier was Pacific Southwest Airlines, which started the concept with their first cheap flight on May 6, 1949. The first airline offering no-frills transatlantic service was Freddie Laker's - Laker Airways, which operated its famous "Skytrain" service between London and New York City during the late 1970s. Then the model spread to Europe as well, the most notable successes being Ireland's Ryanair, which began low-fares operations in 1991, and EasyJet, formed in 1995. Low cost carriers developed in Asia and Oceania from 2000 led by operators such as Malaysia's Air Asia, and Australia's Virgin Blue. In 2006, new LCCs were announced in Saudi Arabia and Mexico.

What are the low cost flying companies?

Low cost flying companies are airlines, which offer generally low fares in exchange for eliminating many traditional passenger services. Often you can buy the tickets only in the internet and not on direct sale, it helps to avoid fees and commissions paid to travel agents and Computer Reservations Systems. Typical low cost carrier offers only single passenger class and a single type of planes (commonly Airbus A320 or Boeing 737) it reduces training and servicing costs. They are using also cheaper and less congested, secondary airports. The flights are mostly short & commonly in the morning or late in the evening to avoid air traffic delays and take advantage of lower landing fees. Also the turnaround times are fast, which allows maximum utilization of planes. The low cost carriers are trying also to limit personel costs, very often employees of such airlines are working in multiple roles, for instance flight attendants can also clean the aircraft or work as gate agents. Instead of "free" in-flight catering and other "complimentary" services passenger could buy food & drinks on board, which is also an additional income source for airlines.

"Cheap flying" is getting everyday to be more and more popular mean of transport. Today in Europe exit more than 50 low cost flying companies offernig flight in various destination in Europe and worldwide. The most popular between them are:

Ryanair - Flights between England (home base London-Stansted) and Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden

EasyJet - Flights between England (home base London) and Denmark, France, Greece, Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Ulster

Virgin Express - Flights between Belgium (home base Brussels) and Denmark, England, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

Air Berlin - Flights within Germany and from Germany (home base Berlin) to Austria, Cyprus, Egypt, England, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey

Wizz Air - Flights from Hungary (home base Budapest) and Poland (home base Katowice) to Czech Rep., England, France, Greece, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden

The low cost flying companies could now compete with traditional carries. But the decision is up to customers, choosing between comfort or price.