Travel in Budget

Wolfgang Jaegel asked:


Budget Airlines, also known as low cost airlines, discount carries, or no frill airlines, have revolutionized the way the people travel. With the introduction of the budget airlines, even a common man can now dream of air travels, which was once just confined to upper class people as well as business executives.

A budget airline is simply a category of airlines that render low fare services via cutting off majority of traditional passenger services. In other words, budget airlines are flight carriers that provide services at exceptionally low rates. Sometimes, budget airlines could even fetch you more than 50% discount.

The concept of budget airlines was first introduced in the United States. During the 1990s, it spread to Europe, and later gradually to Asian destinations. Now this concept has become popular across the world.

Today, many of the reputable airlines in the scenario provide low cost airline services and that too without sacrificing the quality of services. Budget airlines generally make available low fare services through adopting certain practices, such as, providing food options to be paid separately rather than providing it as an all inclusive service and by providing seating on the basis of ‘first come, first fill,’ ie, in the case of budget airlines, the plane is boarded just as a bus and as such, seats would be occupied by those who would come first. In fact, budget airlines have now become one of the smartest ways to travel.

Some of the salient features of budget airlines are single traveler class, single category of airplane that reduces training as well as servicing expenses, easy fare scheme, unreserved seating systems, early flights in order to eliminate delays in air traffic, short flights, ticket sales via the internet, thereby enabling passengers to save money in the form of commissions and fees paid to travel agents, issuance of tickets in electronic format, absence of services such as in flight catering services as well as other complimentary services.

In the case of budget airlines, the pricing of air fares is based on the duration of time between booking and departure. The earlier you make bookings for airfare, much cheaper would be the airfare. Similarly, in order to fill the unsold seat in the plane, some airlines would slash the price prior to a few days before its departure.

A specialty of most of the budget airlines is that they cater to almost all types of travelers. For instance, some airlines operate budget flights according to the convenience of the business travelers. There are certain airlines providing incredible deals on air fares for students as well as leisurely travelers. In most cases, budget airline fares are flexible, al though, in some instances, these airlines may charge a nominal fee to make changes in flight reservations.

A budget airline provides almost the same superb services that a standard airline offers, such as excellent dining options, superb entertainment facilities, and comfortable as well as soft cabins. Additionally, some of the budget airlines render special services for passengers such as elderly travelers, children traveling alone or not accompanied by their parents, pregnant as well as passengers flying with infants, and passengers who have visual, speech, or hearing imparity.

With the introduction of the internet, it has become quite easy to find a budget airline. Many of the airlines have their own websites with facilities for online ticket booking. This in turn is very convenient. It is not only beneficial for hassle-free bookings but also enable you to know whether they provide any kind of discount or deals for traveling within a stipulated period or during a particular season such as Christmas or New Year. All you have to do is to just log into their website and inform them regarding the destination you are going to travel and date of departure.

All of the rest they will take care. In addition, airfare bookings online is economical, as it enables you to save pennies on issuing tickets. The airlines, in most cases, sent confirmation through a simple document containing flight details as well as booking reference. When you make payments and bookings online, it allows you to easily take a print out of this document as soon as the booking process is completed. In short, with just a click of a mouse you can make bookings for a comfortable air journey.



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Jaydeep Bhattacharjee asked:


Things have changed dramatically in air travel in the last few years as far as India is concerned. Once upon a time flying was possible only for privileged few but that scenario is now a thing of the past.

Air Deccan has spearheaded the transformation of converting air travel into an affordable option for the huge middle class of our country. Air Deccan started its service in August 2003 and just in 4 years there and today there are at least another half a dozen low cost carriers crisscrossing the Indian skies. The notable of them are Spice Jet, Go Air and Indigo.

The low cost carriers has not only become a boon for the middle class but it has also helped air passengers across the board as full service airlines have been compelled to reorganize their pricing structure and stay attractive for passengers who are constantly looking for better deals. So therefore the market is flooded with lots of offers from leading full service carriers like Jet Airways, Air Sahara, Kingfisher and Indian. They range from credit card cash back to free hotel room to fly your spouse free and what not.

Despite the rise of aviation fuel over the years the average ticket price has gone down. The full service airlines are also offering early bird discounts to optimize capacity utilization. Many a times if you book early at least a month in advance you may get cheaper price in Jet Airways than that of Air Deccan.

So far so good for consumers but will the party last? The answer lies how far the low cost airlines can position themselves as dependable for the purpose of travel. Air Deccan has publicly proclaimed several times that their competition is with the railways and not other airlines which is definitely very tempting to the budget travelers.

But the general experience with the leading low cost carrier is not always so positive. There are numerous reviews and blogs written by passengers in product review websites which tells horrible experiences of people who took a flight with this airline and this kind of feedback is not only Air Deccan specific but also abundant for other low cost carriers. The consumers are not complaining for the catering or the lack of attractive female cabin crew but for basic facilities and requirements that they expect from an airline.

The most serious problem dogging the low cost airlines is their poor public image. They are not perceived as dependable because of the very high incidence of flight cancellations and delays.

Most of the time there is a chaos whether on ground or in the air. For example, as the seat number is done away with there is always a mad rush just like a local bus or train inside the cabin during boarding. It is tougher to allocate resources for betterment of service for the low cost carriers as the revenue is lower but the biggest blunder for the cause of revenue woe and resource crunch is the Re. 1 fare which was pioneered by Air Deccan.

Air Deccan announced the Re. 1 fare for some kind of marketing gimmick but unfortunately they are caught into the trap. Emulating Air Deccan other new low cost carriers are too offering these insanely low fares and no doubt consumers are lapping them up. But this has actually become a big headache for the budget airlines.

Instead of just cutting down the frills they went too far with the gimmick which is costing them dearly. In 2006 X’mas Air Deccan issued 2 lacs Rs. 2 tickets and they may be they have issued several lacs Re. 1 and Rs. 2 tickets till date. You need not be an aviation analyst but common sense suggests that even many large international airlines will go bust if they are to fly two hundred thousand passengers free of cost.

I feel that the low cost carriers need to rethink the strategy. First of all Indian consumers don’t want a ticket for Re. 1 or Rs. 2, they want respect. In this price you cannot even get a pedal rickshaw ride anywhere in India so this does not go well with an air passenger’s ego.

Instead of gimmick it is better to have a kind of uniform and realistic low pricing by cutting on frills and making the low cost carriers a differentiated service aimed at people with business sense who would like to pay a just amount for a point to point safe and comfortable transit. When this is done I think passengers will find better value to fly with low cost carriers and they will stay loyal too.

One thing one should not forget is that, even if the passengers are paying Re.1 they are not going to be kind when their flights are canceled and baggages delayed. I have witnessed chaos and angry exchanges between customers and staff several times at the counters of Air Deccan and other low cost carriers in various airports and simply these tell us the customer satisfaction level of these airlines.

So in the long term the free flights are not going to help the low cost carriers sustain in business, they have to deliver what other airlines deliver sans the frill.



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Paul Hata asked:


The past few decades have seen an incredible revolution in the world of the airline industry. Low cost and discount airlines took the industry by storm with their focus on getting their passengers to their chosen destinations with no frills and the least expense possible.

Discount airlines like Air Asia, Jet Blue and Flybe have proven that airlines can be successful without offering the frills and first class seats that many of the old line airlines found so indispensable.

As a matter of fact, for the past several years the low cost air carriers have been the only ones able to turn a profit.While many traditional airlines are struggling to make a profit,have been profitable almost from their inception.

In addition, low cost airlines have helped to lower prices across the board in the airline industry.When a low cost air carrier starts flying out of a specific destination, the traditional airlines often have little choice but to lower their prices in response to the new competition.

This has helped make air travel affordable for a large segment of the population that had never before been able to take advantage of the option of flying.

When low cost airlines first began operations, they kept costs lower primarily by cutting out the extras; anything that did not focus directly on getting passengers where they were going on time was cut back or eliminated.

For instance, where traditional air carriers served entire meals, low cost carriers offered bags of peanuts or boxes of snacks. Most low cost carriers also cut out movies and entertainment on their flight, although low cost Jet Blue was the first to offer live television on their planes for a low fee.

The irony in this situation is that traditional airlines have begun to cut back on these very items, with many traditional carriers now offering no meal service at all, or charging fees for the meals they do serve.

What all this means to the budget minded traveler is that airfare costs can be much lower than in the past. While airfares still do fluctuate widely, it is generally possible to find a reasonable price for destinations around the country and around the world.

The key, of course, is to shop early and shop well. The internet provides a great way to search for the lowest airfares. Every low cost and traditional airline has its own web site, and it is important to check these web sites often for prices to your particular destination.

There are also a number of comparison web sites where you can simply type in the originating and destination airports and the web site provides the lowest fares on various airlines.In many cases the lowest price will be a low cost carrier, but the increased level of competition means that the lowest price will sometimes be with a traditional carrier as well.

The lowest airfares, both on low cost airlines and traditional ones, are often those that are booked at least a month ahead. Fares for last minute flights are often extraordinarily high, even on the low cost carriers. So the key to getting the best deal is to shop early.



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