Low Cost "No Frills" airlines have been springing up all over the world, especially in Europe, to bring direct competition to the established market. DestinWorld editor Matt Falcus delves a little further to find out exactly what the deal is...

Low Cost Airlines.... What's the Buzz?
by Matt Falcus

Well, Buzz may be part of Ryanair now, but it is just one example of the new trend in air travel taking off around the world, particularly in Europe.

Traditionally air travel works around large national carriers that offer the best in service and customer care. These large carriers fly out of large hubs, and are fed by smaller airlines that fly passengers from regional airports to these hubs for onwards connections. These large airlines are traditionally expensive.

The very notion of travelling by air was pushed towards the affluent, always assuming the average person could not afford such luxuries. With the 1960s came the package deal, bring air travel and organised holidays to the masses for the first time. Now millions of people could afford that one holiday per year and even go by plane.

Then came the low-cost carrier. These operate newer, more fuel efficient aircraft (contrary to popular belief), and fly into regional airports and occasionally larger ones. They operate flights to popular destinations at a fraction of the cost of the larger airlines and allow anyone to fly on a regular basis for next to nothing. For the first time it has become the norm to take many short trips per year by air, and never has it been so convenient, with local airports covering a variety of destinations.

So how do they do this? Here's how:

1) They do not provide catering by default. You can buy food and drink onboard if you want it - often at extortionate prices.

2) Flying out of smaller airports saves on expensive fees and taxes. Not every low cost airline flies into secondary airports, but the majority will favour them because of the reduced landing fees and guarantee of avoiding rush hour delays.

3) Ticketing is done electronically and seats are often not assigned, saving on printing and administration costs, and vastly reducing turn around times at the gate.

4) Sales are done through Internet web sites, saving on expensive travel agent fees and commission.

5) Operating at a lower profit margin allows them to charge you less. Why should they rake in all the profits? Overall they are likely to sell more seats and make a larger profit anyway!

6) Using a fleet of one type of fuel-efficient aircraft saves training pilots on different types.

Since 9/11 the world of flying has dramatically changed. People ceased flying in droves and the big airlines struggled. With their heavy overheads and high prices, things certainly died down for them. The only airlines to profit from this period were the low-cost ones. Their cheap prices and 'no frills' service brought people back, and this has followed on by becoming something of a trend. Airlines such as EasyJet and Ryanair in Europe are growing at a rate never seen before, whilst the big carriers still slowly fade away. Once the public had a taste of cheap, reliable, fast service to the destinations they want to get to, why should they go back. Who likes in-flight catering anyway?

The low-cost model was in fact developed in the 1970s, with Herb Kelleher founding Southwest Airlines out of Dallas. Their business model of flying into secondary airports, utilising only Boeing 737 aircraft and saving on administration costs, set the standard for most of today's carriers. Southwest are currently one of the largest airlines in the US and growing every year.

So are there drawbacks?

Well, yes there are some. For a start, coverage isn't yet as good as it could be if is to be truly available to everyone. Most airlines only cover a few bases, or hubs, that they operate from to a certain set of destinations. Most people, especially in the UK and Europe will live within an hour's drive of one of these airports, but this still isn't good enough.

Also, because of the need to skimp on landing fees, low-cost airlines have been labelled slightly for flying into airports many miles away from the alleged destination. One example is Ryanair flying into Frankfurt-Hahn airport - some 90 miles from the city centre!

There are also hefty cover charges and a certain lack of sympathy if you miss your flight or want to change the details. If you change the name on your ticket, it often costs the difference between the price you paid for the ticket and what it is worth now. You are also likely to pay over the odds if you turn up at the airport on the day of travel and try to buy a ticket. The idea only works if you book months in advance.

That said, cheap flights are certainly the way to go. We can not go on being over charged for flying. It is a great feat of human achievement and allows us travel-hungry people access to the world. Things will only get better. This is surely the tip of the iceberg. Ryanair was recently named the third most valuable airline in the world. This is some achievement when pitted agains the large national carriers established over 70 years ago.

A list of the more popular low-cost airlines you may wish to try:

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