Low-cost airlines reach new heights

Business is booming for low cost airlines

Cheap flights are now so widely available that nipping abroad is a temptation that we're all finding hard to resist. The BBC's Marcia Hughes reports.

"When you're backpacking around the world it is just so cheap and easy to...[book flights] very quickly on the internet" said one "no-frills" traveller.

Even midweek at Stansted Airport, business is booming for low cost airlines and the flotation of easyJet this week highlights the growth of this sector.

Ryanair, the original and largest low fares airline in Europe knows the potential for expansion in this market only too well.

Barbara Cassiani, Chief Executive, Go Airlines, foresees great potential for growth.

"As long as we stick to the formula that is low fares and secondary airports and doing the same thing across Europe, no matter whether it is Southern Italy or Northern Sweden, that is the key to remain focused and the market will come" says Tim Jeans from Ryanair.

No frills popularity

There's no doubt that more and more of us are choosing to fly the "no frills" way.

We're getting used to doing without our creature comforts if it means we get to fly more cheaply.

In fact, most of us would resent paying more than £100 to fly one-way to somewhere in Europe.

This in turn puts extra pressure on the budget airlines to provide low-cost fares and it makes it difficult for them to fly to popular destinations that are more expensive.

Go, the no frills airline put up for sale by British Airways, flies to many popular destinations and has struggled in this competitive environment.

But it says it is able to negotiate deals with airports to keep costs down.

European targets

The cheapest place to get flights in Europe is London and many would-be budget travellers from continental Europe may have difficulty finding cheap fares to anyplace apart from London.

Now Go wants to focus on the rest of Europe.

Barbara Cassiani, Chief Executive of Go airlines, explains that "if you live in any other part of Europe beside Dublin, you have very high fares."

Go sees "the opportunity as enormous in Milan, in Madrid, in Rome, in Copenhagen" and customers in those cities expect the same low fares, so Go intend to target those areas.

Online sales

The trend for buying tickets online will be another area where the budget airlines will be concentrating on.

Internet purchasing makes low fares more easily available to a larger market and reduces airline distribution costs.

So, as the market accelerates, cheaper deals to more destinations is something everyone in Europe can look forward to.