Low cost airline (also known as a no-frills, discount or budget carrier/airline) is a carrier that usually offers much cheaper fares as compared to other full-service airlines. Such airlines generally charge for extras like food, seat allocation and baggage to make up for revenue lost in low ticket prices. Low cost airlines are different from regional airlines operating short flights without service or full-service airlines offering decreased fares to travellers on cheap holidays and holiday makers looking for multi-stop tickets.
Date : Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Low cost carrier’s business model usually incorporates a single passenger class, a single type of aircraft that reduces training and servicing costs, minimum set of optional equipment on the aircraft and flying to less congested secondary airports among others.
Several low cost airlines operate flights throughout the world and many of them operate out of United Kingdom.
Ryanair
Ryanair is Europe’s one of the largest low-cost carriers and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with its principal operational bases at the Dublin Airport and the London Stansted Airport. Ryanair operates more than 1,400 flights daily from over 40 bases. It operates on nearly 1100 low fare routes that span over 27 countries around the world.
Ryanair features a fleet of 250 Boeing 737-800 aircrafts and employs more than 8,000 individuals and flies approximately 70 million passengers each year to different parts of the world. The airline offers cheap flights to more than 150 European destinations such as Paris, Milan, Alicante and Barcelona.
Apart from London-Stansted and Dublin, Ryanair's other major bases include Girona, Alicante and Brussels-Charleroi. Additionally, the airline has small base at the Belfast City.
Ryanair mostly flies to secondary airports in a point to point model instead of a more conventional airline hubs as this allows the airline to provide cheap tickets due to the lesser landing and handling costs at secondary airports. However, Ryanair also serves various major airports such as Dublin, Berlin Schönefeld, London-Gatwick, Madrid-Barajas and Porto.
Ryanair’s website, is one of the most searched travel websites in Europe. The website handles thousands of bookings each week. Additionally, the airline’s website provides car hire, travel insurance and hotel accommodation services.
EasyJet
EasyJet Airline Company Limited (better known as EasyJet) is a British airline that is headquartered at the London Luton Airport. Considered as the second largest low-cost carrier in Europe, EasyJet is one of the busiest UK-based airlines and offers domestic as well as international flight deals. EasyJet operates on more than 500 routes between nearly 120 European, African and Asian airports. The company employs more than 8,000 people throughout Europe and carries approximately 45 million passengers annually. EasyJet, along with franchise airline EasyJet Switzerland, features more than 180 aircrafts.
EasyJet’s business model includes various cost-cutting measures like offering no connecting flights or no serving of complimentary snacks on board. Additional key points of airline’s business model include optimum aircraft utilisation and low operating costs. All this helps the airline in offering cheapest tickets to travellers.
EasyJet, in contrast to Ryanair, prefers to fly to primary airports and mostly features large bases at primary airports. However, the carrier also serves several secondary airports.
The low-cost airline runs a very resourceful website that serves as a user-friendly interface for travellers to book their flights.
Bmibaby
A subsidiary of BMI, Bmibaby is a low-cost British carrier that operates flights to different destinations around Europe from its bases at Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands, and Manchester. The budget airline is a member of the Bmi Diamond Club frequent flyer program and is licensed to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.
Bmibaby operates flights from the East Midlands Airport to Alghero, Alicante, Almeria, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belfast International, Cologne/Bonn, Dubrovnik, Edinburgh, Faro, Geneva, Glasgow International, Jersey, Malaga, Malta, Menorca, Munich, Newquay, Nice, Palma, Paris, Prague and Venice.
The low cost airline runs flights from the Birmingham Airport to Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belfast International, Faro, Geneva, Ireland West Knock, Malaga, Murcia, Nice, Palma and Prague.
Form the Manchester Airport, the airline runs flights to Belfast International, Bordeaux, Geneva, Ireland West Knock, Jersey, Lisbon, Lourdes, Newquay, Palma, Perpignan, Prague and Toulouse.
The budget carrier offers flights to Alicante, Belfast International, Edinburgh, Faro, Geneva, Jersey, Malaga, Menorca, Munich, Murcia and Palma from the Cardiff Airport.
Established in 2002, Bmibaby operates 14 Boeing 737 aircrafts and features buy on board programme with toys, drinks and snacks.
Flybe
Flybe is a low-cost British airline that is based at the Exeter International Airport in Devon, England. The Southampton Airport is Flybe’s largest base while the Manchester Airport, Birmingham Airport and Belfast City Airport are its other major bases. Additionally, the budget carrier boasts of 14 more aircraft and crew bases.
Flybe operates in 13 countries spanning over 200 routes around Europe. It features a fleet of over 70 operational aircrafts and serves approximately 7 million passengers each year.
Flybe has codeshare partnership with British Airways, Etihad Airways and Air France, and has interline partnerships with American Airlines, BMI, Continental Airlines, Emirates Airline, Ghana International Airlines, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines, US Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
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http://www.airbaltic.com/ ( Air Baltic.com )
http://www.airberlin.com/ ( Air Berlin.com )
http://www.airsouthwest.com/ ( Air Southwest )
http://www.aurigny.com/ ( Aurigny )
http://www.blue1.com/ ( Blue1 )
http://www.blueislands.com/ ( Blue Islands )
http://www.bmibaby.com/" ( Bmibaby )
https://www.flydba.com/ ( Dba )
http://www.easyjet.com" ( EasyJet )
http://www.estonian-air.ee/ ( Estonian Air )
http://www.flyniki.com/" ( FlyNiki.com )
http://www.flythomascook.com/" ( Fly Thomas Cook )
http://www.germanwings.com/" ( German Wings )
http://www.flyglobespan.com/ ( Globespan )
http://www.icelandexpress.com/ ( Iceland Express.com )
http://www.jet2.com/ ( Jet2 )
http://www.lal.lt/ ( Lithuanian Airlines )
http://www.manx2.com/ ( Manx2.com )
http://www.meridiana.it/ ( Meridiana )
http://www.flymonarch.com/ ( Monarch Airlines )
http://www.norwegian.no/" ( Norwegian Air )
http://www.ryanair.com/" ( Ryan Air.com )
http://www.skyeurope.com/ ( SkyEurope )
http://www.transavia.com/ ( Transavia Airlines )
http://www.virgin-express.com/ ( Virgin Express )
http://www.flyvlm.com/ ( VLM )
http://www.wizzair.com/ ( Wizzair )