Week 3 - Ways of making budget airlines cheaper - Rachael Smith

·         Hedging – sign a contract to pay for fuel for a set period at the price it is now. This means that if the price doubles, you are paying less than everyone else. However, if the price drops, you are paying more than everyone else.

·         Use only one kind of plane – this means only one kind of maintenance is required, spare parts for only one kind of plane need to be stocked, money can be saved on pilot and mechanic training.

·         Cheaper airport fees – either by negotiating with the airport, or by using a smaller airport – which might be have drawbacks – such as a non-central location.

·         “On most budget airlines, you won't find first class, business class or economy class. The entire plane is one class, with all the seats lined up in one cabin. It's basically like a bus with wings.”

·         Don’t have reserved seats – passengers find a seat on a first come, first served basis. This simplifies the interior design, reduces the numbers of crew required, and reduced the overheads involved in systems for booking seats. It also speeds turnaround times.

·         Some do not offer free food/alcohol. Others offer a basic seat, and the passenger pays for any extras.

·         Buying tickets directly from their website or counter, rather than from a travel agent or an internet travel site, since these get a cut of the price.