£1.70 per seat doesn't sound much (nor does £5.80) but it explains the supermarket "pile 'em high - sell 'em cheap" airline ethos that both easyJet and Ryanair have pioneered in Europe. And it clearly works (you only have to look at Tesco!) .
easyJet in particular is to be commended for the effect it's had on Luton where it almost single-handedly, proved that the Airport is a viable London terminal for a particular niche market.
The airline should also be commended for sticking with Luton despite some crass management decisions, policies and blind alleys taken by the previous LLAO management in the late 1990s.
The new owners of LLAO are clearly, far more experienced, shrewd and airline industry-orientated people than the previous lacklustre shower that initially won the Concession, and easyJet has undoubtedly played a part in raising Luton's profile and moving the Airport into League Division 2 - so much so that Ryanair (which of course, earlier effectively abandoned Luton) has acknowledged the potential for new business there by returning.
Barring global catastrophies, it looks as though Luton is now moving into a win-win situation because even if easyJet's financial situation forced it to retrench, the likelihood is that other low-cost operators would move in to fill the gaps created.