Temporary Low Cost Travel Cafe

RE: Airasia (X?) announces KL-London plans

Konangrit — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:20:42 GMT

Still a while to go then, which is a pity now that Oasis is no longer around. I may try them next year, maybe fly to Europe on AirAsiaX, and fly back shorthaul through Turkey, Middle East, India. That would also have the added benefit of avoiding the UK's longhaul taxes.

Quote:

“It will be configured to house 50 flatbeds (sleeper seats) and the rest would be economy seats but will be bigger and more comfortable than even that of a full service carrier,” Fernandes said in an interview from London.

I'm not really sure whay he means by " the rest would be economy seats but will be bigger". Bigger in which way? Surely they're going to cram as many seats into economy as possible to get fares as low as $370 return, even if that does exclude tax.

Airasia (X?) announces KL-London plans

onebir — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:05:18 GMT

Should be running "from March". with fares from RM1,200 return (US$370 - must be ex taxes and surcharges?), probably to Stansted, initally 5x/week (building up to twice daily) with an A340.

Full story from the Malaysia Star

RE: "PAL Express", New domestic LCC from Philippine Ai

Konangrit — Fri, 09 May 2008 20:32:09 GMT

Interestingly consistent. I think I'd choose to pay slightly more to fly Cebu Pacific.

RE: more air oasis trouble

Konangrit — Fri, 09 May 2008 20:20:20 GMT

Sorry if this is a little late, I haven't been able to log in recently.

Air Canada have very cheap flights, probably to help passengers stuck by Oasis's collapse. For example, one way from Hong Kong - Vancouver August 13 is HK$3478 (CAD$449) after tax etc. I strongly suggest booking ASAP whilst these fares are still available as it's likely that they are only temporary. The next cheapest fares on other airlines are more than twice as much.

RE: "PAL Express", New domestic LCC from Philippine Ai

attitudetravel — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:01:03 GMT

PAL Express launches...!

Let's see how its lowest fares measure up against those of Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines...

Manila Ninoy Aquino - Bacolod
Air Philippines : PHP 1869 one-way, including taxes (USD 45)
PAL Express : PHP 1925 one-way, including taxes (USD 46)
Cebu Pacific : PHP 2025 one-way, including taxes (USD 4

Manila Ninoy Aquino - Cagayan de Oro
Air Philippines : PHP 2597 one-way, including taxes (USD 62)
PAL Express : PHP 2653 one-way, including taxes (USD 63)
Cebu Pacific : PHP 2731 one-way, including taxes (USD 65)

Manila Ninoy Aquino - Davao
Air Philippines : PHP 2597 one-way, including taxes (USD 62)
PAL Express : PHP 2653 one-way, including taxes (USD 63)
Cebu Pacific : PHP 2843 one-way, including taxes (USD 6

Well, that's pretty consistent.

RE: more air oasis trouble

attitudetravel — Mon, 05 May 2008 10:05:31 GMT

Quite tough this one.

Oasis was unique in being the only low cost transport provider of any kind across the Pacific to date - with the possible exception of Jetstar International which flies from Australia only as far as Honolulu in Hawaii.

The only thing I can think of right now which might be remotely useful is Cathay Pacific's All Asia Pass, available for US$ 1100. This will cover some of your intra-Asian flights in advance and the flight from Hong Kong back to North America:

Cathay Pacific USA All Asia Pass

After crossing the Pacific you'll still have to fly back to Vancouver from California - I see WestJet flies from Palm Springs to Vancouver, so that's one possible option.

more air oasis trouble

ericlutley — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:57:37 GMT

doing a SE Asia trip this summer, was planning on flying home to vancouver from hong kong with oasis. any suggestions for an alternative cheap route? would consider any route no matter layovers or days involved. thanks.

RE: Wizz Air Ukraine launches domestic flights in July 2008

attitudetravel — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:43:21 GMT

Exciting stuff!

Quote:

Warsaw - Kiev would seem like an obvious route to start their international flights with.

Or, indeed: Katowice - L'viv.

Short of renting a car, the most straightforward way right now to get from Krakow, the capital of Malopolska to L'viv, the capital of Galicia is to take the train. I did it last January, just after New Year and, to put it bluntly, it takes hours, you arrive in the middle of the night and the border-crossing is a royal pain in the ass.

A 45 minute flight between the two cities would be a spur to regional growth, help Ukraine with building its path towards EU accession and maybe give the railways the kick up the behind they sorely need, right now.

In the long term I'm not really in favour of such short air-routes, if, as is widely suggested, aviation emissions are contributing to global warming but building an express railway line between Krakow and L'viv doesn't seem to be much of a priority right now and something tells me it ought to be.

Wizz Air Ukraine launches domestic flights in July 2008

Konangrit — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:55:00 GMT

Quote:

Wizz Air Ukraine opens Kiev base and launches domestic flights in July 2008

Wizz Air Ukraine, the first low fare - low cost airline in Ukraine announced at a press conference in Kiev today that it would start operating an initial network of seven Ukrainian domestic routes from its operating base at Kiev Boryspil Airport on 11 July 2008. Wizz Air Ukraine will provide low fare air travel service from Kiev Boryspil Airport to Lviv, Odessa, Simferopol, Kharkov and Zaporozhye. Flights from Lviv and Kharkov to Simferopol, the popular Krym resort will also be available to the Ukrainian travellers.

Wizz Air Ukraine’s new routes include:

Route Frequency
Kiev – Lviv 4 flights/week
Kiev - Kharkov 4 flights/week
Kiev - Odessa 7 flights/week
Kyiv - Zaporozhye 3 flights/week
Kiev - Simferopol 10 flights/week
Simferopol – Kharkov 3 flights/week
Simferopol – Lviv 4 flights/week

Ticket sales will be opened on 24 April with all inclusive fares starting from as low as UAH 79 on the airline’s website, wizzair.com or through the Wizz Air Ukraine call center on +380 (44) 206-4-888.
Wizz Air Ukraine will operate brand new Airbus A320 aircraft configured with 180 leather seats offering low fares and convenient air travel experience to the Ukrainian public.

“Today is a milestone event in the development of Wizz Air as well as for the Ukrainian traveling public. Wizz Air Ukraine’s high quality service and low fares will change the dynamics of the Ukrainian transportation market. Now all those who never thought of flying before will have the opportunity to travel fast, safely and comfortably on our new Airbus A320 aircraft for the fraction of the current prices.” - said Natália Kázmér, Director General of Wizz Air Ukraine. “Wizz Air Ukraine has ambitious plans to quickly expand its operations by adding international routes and more domestic services, opening further operating bases in various regions in Ukraine and ultimately deploying an increasing number of aircraft.” - she added.

Wizz Air

Wizz Air don't currently fly to Ukraine, but I'd expect them to connect their Ukraine flights to the rest of their network quite quickly. Warsaw - Kiev would seem like an obvious route to start their international flights with. Hopefully they'll expand south and east rather than just west. It would be nice if they served the Caucasus.

RE: LCCs from emerging markets struggle to reach profitability

attitudetravel — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 20:28:27 GMT

An excellent piece - good find.

Quote:

SkyEurope chief executive Jason Bitter believes [...] low-cost carriers have historically attracted more business travellers during recessions.

Possibly. I hadn't thought of that, but, yes it's possible that budget carriers like easyJet and Sky Europe will gain passengers travelling on business, even as airlines like the Czech and Austrian flag-carriers CSA and Austrian Airlines lose them.

As the recession worsens and oil prices stay high I think we will see a number of low cost carriers - essentially those with the weakest business models - fall apart and the better established LCCs go from strength to strength.

What I'm practically certain of is that in today's inter-connected world, people do need to travel, whether for business, personal or family reasons, and when times are tight, they will be more concerned than ever to look for and find the cheapest airfare available, no matter the inconvenience.

In this climate, pioneer class low cost carriers like Ryanair, Tiger Airways and Air Arabia can only thrive. The collapse of Skybus was an anomaly and I'm sure we will see the return of Skybus or airlines like Skybus in the USA. We will not see the return of airlines in the USA like Aloha. Not when people can fly with go! instead.