"Lowcoster ... What is it? - Many beginner travelers will ask. - How can they help us in drawing up the route? Is it worth it to resort to 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 accessible not only for the rich, but also for passengers of average, and sometimes even low material wealth.
What do low-cost airlines offer?
It is unlikely that anyone would dare to deny the fact that air travel in the modern world plays a huge role. And this, perhaps, is not surprising.
The high speed of movement in space is very much appreciated today. However, the reasonable cost of air tickets is no less important. That is why a question such as “Lowcoster - what is it?” today should not even arise. It is necessary not only to know about the existence of such companies, but also to actively resort to 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 a concept according to which the flight can be completed at the lowest cost. How? Due to the refusal of additional passenger services.
From the USA, the concept of low-cost penetrated first to Europe, and then to other parts of the world.
Initially, the term “low-cost airlines” refers to organizations whose operating cost structure was relatively 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: "Lowcoster ... what is it?" - Do not take into account regional companies operating on short flights with limited service.
Characteristic features of this kind of transport
To imagine what the business model of these companies consists of, you need to find out what distinguishes it from other similar ones.
For example, the low-cost airline of Aeroflot, as in principle of any other company in the world, has the following characteristic features:
- All passenger seats belong to the same class.
- As a rule, such airlines use one type of aircraft to reduce the costs required for servicing various types of equipment and training personnel.
- The use of a simplified ticket payment scheme. Today, electronic tickets are widely used. Low-costers promote them over the Internet. So, 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 underloaded runways. Why? The thing is that such airports have lower fees, so it becomes possible to reduce various kinds of costs.
- Intensive operation of technical equipment (in one day the aircraft makes several flights, which a couple of decades ago seemed impossible).
- Direct flights are preferred.
- The set of services, as a rule, is reduced.
- Optimization of the work of airline employees by each 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 on airplanes. Carriers used old aircraft with a new logo.
The intensification of the use of winged cars sometimes became so high that the downtime on the ground was practically reduced to zero.
The first low cost airline in the United States is Southwest Airlines. It should be noted that Europe’s low-cost airlines have already studied with her.
Initially, it transported in Texas. The company could not organize transfers to other states due to the prohibition of existing laws. To increase the popularity of flights, charming girls were attracted as stewardesses. Uniforms emphasized their amazing appearance and impeccable figure.
In Europe, the first company of such a plan was Ryanair. She began to carry passengers in 1985, but as a real budget low-cost airline began to function 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, an air carrier of this type exists 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, offering first-class conditions, satellite television, of course, for an additional fee.
In the UK, the issue of deliberately understating the advertised cost of air tickets is being actively discussed - the stated price, as a rule, does not include taxes and fees. All additional payments are not refunded 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 an excess of the allowable weight by the rules is revealed. By the way, similarly, low-cost airlines of Asia also practice.
Why are there so few low cost airlines in Russia
In Russia, there have also been attempts to properly organize low-cost airlines.
In 2006, Sky Express Corporation began to function as part of the budget tariff policy. At that time, the cost of any ticket was 500 rubles.
In 2009, the Avianova company determined the ticket price at 250 rubles. But for a long time they could not work under such conditions. The reasons for abandoning the business model of a budget company were that it was not possible to increase the volume of traffic so as to reach the required indicators. The fleet of aircraft in these companies was small, so there were constantly problems with flight delays. Due to the fact that the costs of servicing liners began to increase, companies were forced to cease to exist.
It should be noted purely technical points. The manual control model has become a serious problem for the development of low-cost transportation in Russia, 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 transportation 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 decisions quickly in response to proposals from budget companies.
The duties on foreign cars introduced by the government of our country also played a role, not allowing low-cost airlines to significantly reduce costs to the level required for normal development.
And the complexity of Russian laws creates obstacles to the development of airlines that offer passengers only the necessary services and low-cost tickets. Given all of the above, it becomes clear why the statement: “Low-coster? What is it? Cheap tickets? No, that doesn't happen! ” - they are most often asked precisely in Russia, in Europe or, say, in the USA, such services are the norm
Dobrolet - a modern Russian carrier
In August 2013, the Aeroflot Board of Directors decided to develop the Dobrolet low-cost airline. Its leader was Vladimir Gorbunov, who had previously headed Avianova.
It is planned that the company will initially operate flights of 8 aircraft. By 2018, the aircraft fleet is expected to expand to 40.
All additional services - only for a fee. Check-in will be done online. 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 - the main low-cost airline in Ukraine, Poland, Hungary
A Hungarian-Polish airline company has been operating in Ukraine since 2008. In 2013, she carried out flights only on one domestic route - “Kiev-Simferopol”.
Wizz Air is trying to enter the Russian market, but this process is difficult due to the rather stringent requirements that Rosaviatsia makes. The low-cost airline of Aeroflot is perhaps the only, however, domestic, company that has been able to hold out there for a long time.
Nevertheless, Wizz Air does not abandon plans to increase traffic and expand their geography.
Finnair - the largest Finnish airline
It should be noted that Finnair is considered the safest in Europe. Since 1963, not a single emergency has been recorded. Russian low-cost airlines, as well as many other organizations of such a plan, should learn from her.
The history of Finnair dates back to 1924. Today it is a stable operating company.
Passenger incentive programs, a special class for children, management of waiting rooms - all contribute to the growth of popularity. According to 2012 data, the airline’s traffic amounted to 9 million people.
Air Arabia - Arab low cost airline
The first company to operate in the Middle East on a large scale is Air Arabia. Today it provides transportation services to 76 countries of the world. The headquarters is located 15 km from the center of Dubai.
In 2007, Air Arabia established another base, this time in the capital of Nepal. The difficult economic and political situation in this region contributed to the fact that the company had to be temporarily suspended.
In 2009, in Egypt, Air Arabia created a new company, the base of which was supposed to be located in Alexandria. The growth in passenger and freight traffic, the expansion of the range of paid additional services, various entertainment systems - this is exactly what low-cost airlines in Russia can envy.
Air Arabia gradually implements all this, achieving stability in work.
Qantas Airways is Australia's largest airline
“Flying Kangaroo” - this is the nickname of Qantas Airways. This is one of the oldest organizations whose shares can be bought and sold on the ASX stock exchange.
In 2007, this company ranked 3rd in the world for Skytrax research. The company's net profit in fiscal 2005-2006 amounted to 350 billion 45 million dollars. International and domestic transport are very popular.
By the way, Qantas Airways is considered the safest in the world, as its jets never crashed.
Kingfisher Red - India's first low-cost carrier
Frequently traveling tourists know that Kingfisher Red is based in Bangalore.
It has been operating for a long time, and the first flight to Hubbally from Bangalore was made in 2003. Founder G.R. Gopinat sought to create a company that could provide every Indian with the opportunity to fly.
Today, this Kingfisher Red is actively competing with GoAir, Indigo, SpiceJet. As a result of this competition, passengers win as airfare prices are reduced.