No End in Sight for Cheap Flights

Around this time last year, many people from across the aviation sector were busy predicating the end of the cheapest flights. As the price of oil hit a record high in May 2008, the chief executive of British Airways Willie Walsh warned that they would soon disappear altogether, adding: "The industry has no future if it does not price in its costs."

In June last year, International Air Transport Association director general Giovanni Bisignani also made a gloomy prediction, based on soaring oil prices. He spoke for many airline executives when he said: "Clearly the fare will have to reflect a cost structure that is different."

Towards the end of the year however, the credit crunch bit hard and oil prices fell once again. The economic downturn led to another round of people forecasting the end of low-cost flights, as analysts predicted that people would cut back on flying and their holidays.

So far, neither event seems to have happened. Responding to Walsh’s comments in May, easyJet argued that the market was currently saturated with budget carriers and many of these would soon go bust, allowing the remaining no-frills airlines to scoop up their business and offset increased fuel costs.

The top budget carriers have also pursued a policy of introducing charges for things such as hold luggage and checking in at the airport, as opposed to online. Now, the likes of easyJet and Ryanair are boasting that business is booming.

However, the market for cheap flights does not just appear to be holding its own, it even seems to be expanding. This month, low-cost carrier Air Asia X launched its new route from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to London, which promises flights to Asia for some £150.

At the end of February, Sir Richard Branson launched his new V Australia brand, which offers a plethora of new routes throughout Australia itself, but more pertinently, teams up with Virgin Atlantic to offer the first cheap flights around the world.

Passengers have two ticket options: Virgin Global East, flying from Heathrow to Hong Kong and then onto Sydney, from Sydney to LA and back to London, and Virgin Global West, which flies from Heathrow to LA, then onto Sydney, from Sydney to Hong Kong before returning to London –with all-inclusive fares starting from £1,239.

Kim has 5 years experience in the Travel industry and writing travel content for brochures. She enjoys writing on various different locations.