Airline passenger news and views

Southwest Airlines, known as both the original and the yardstick for all American budget carriers, year celebrated their 40^th year of serving the American public this year. Considering the rather stark situation of the global economy and the way in which most US carriers faced something of a budget crisis, Southwest fared the weather surprisingly well and seemed to come out smelling of roses - recording a 10% increase in passenger load.

Southwest are now responsible for carrying the largest number of passengers of any US carrier and proves beyond doubt that their budget airline business model has been enormously successful. As such, with continuing uncertainty across the industry, many are wondering whether budget airlines are set to become the standard model upon which all other major players base their own strategies for success.

It was the 1970s when budget airlines first began to appear across the world, offering a limited number of amenities (the abolishment of free food, assigned seating, priority boarding etc) in exchange for lower ticket prices. Indeed, it soon became abundantly clear that there were many luxuries passengers were willing to forego in order to see their ticket prices considerably reduced. Southwest first came to be in 1971, offering regional connections in Texas.

Ryanair on the other hand, currently the biggest budget carrier in Europe, was founded in 1985. Both carriers displayed clear similarities in that they flew in and out of smaller airports, covered short haul routes only and reduced turnaround time dramatically by eliminating assigned seating. Even today, the majority of budget airlines including these two examples have continued to operate along similar lines, using regional airports and assisting fast turnarounds with single class cabins and no designated seating arrangements. Furthermore, some carriers including Southwest use only a single type of aircraft so as to help the maintenance and repair process, increasing efficiency and lowering costs even further.

The one thing holding budget airlines back so far has been the inability to offer long haul routes for the same bargain fares. Offering such a service is incredibly problematic for a budget carrier, as most of the cost-cutting strategies, such as using the same aircraft several times during a single day, are simply impossible when flying long haul. Ryanair for example has recorded the highest number of overall international passengers for any airline, though currently does not offer a single long haul route.

A pioneering move has been made by AirAsia X who came into play in 2007, operating out of Kuala Lumpur and currently offering services to Europe, India and Australia. While somewhat far from the bargain-status of Ryanair and Southwest, AirAsia X have been able to offer significant reduction by applying similar tactics and have so far been enormously successful.

The numbers of passengers opting for budget airlines speak all that is necessary to be spoken, confirming that air travellers the world over for the majority prefer budget options at the expense of luxuries. Regardless of speculation and the problems encountered by some during the current financial turbulence, budget airlines are not only here to stay but are certain to multiply and expand at a staggering rate. What remains to be seen however is exactly whether or not it will be possible for such airlines to begin an introduction of long haul services so as to tap into a market where the surface has barely been scratched.

Should significant reductions be offered at the expense of luxuries and additions, even over the longest possible routes, it seems clear that the popularity of such services would be nothing less than enormous. Needless to say, the subsequent price war spurred from the introduction of budget long haul routes among the major carriers would be rather on the epic side, perhaps ushering in a new age of air travel when the world becomes open to more and more travellers than ever before.

The viability of such inclusions remains to be seen, but another distinct possibility is that of major carriers and long haul operators acknowledging the popularity of reduced luxuries in favor of lower ticket prices and thus offering a little leeway with their own services. Of course, opting out of a meal or two and forgoing assigned seating may not knock a huge chunk off a flight from London to Sydney, but in an age when every penny has never counted more, it is the smallest changes that could make the most significant difference. 

Article contributed by Susan Black of sofasandsectionals.com