Saturday, February 28, 2009

Going to the Extremes on a Budget Airline


One low-cost carrier (LCC), Ryanair, in Europe is going to the extremes to cut costs by removing check-in desks and even charging for toilets. Personally, my experience with one Asian LCC, Cebu Pacific Air, was rather good (the best part was we paid $0 for the flight ~ promotion!!! excluding fuel surcharge, tax...blah blah blah which amounted to HK$2750 for 5 people). The flight was just 10 minutes late on both trips, brand new aircraft but no food and TVs, well that's another story.
Ryanair may be charging each passenger (credit card or coins), per use, £1 (US$1.43) but there's a few flaws. One of the flaws, what if a passenger leaves the door open for the next passenger to use? READER INTERACTION: Mention a possible flaw in the comments!

They'll also be removing check-in desks and forcing all passengers that fly with them to use online check-in while dropping their baggage (if any - requires extra charge) at a designated drop-off point. This would allow them to save on leasing costs of the airport check-in desk.

The future of Low-Cost Carriers

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