Lo Co? will it fail?
Hi all
I'll try and keep this short as there are so many contibuting factors to the mess that this industry is in, but here is one aspect I would like to discuss.
Of course the world economies and the current worlwide depression has ment that fewer people are travelling and these events have ultimately cost me and so many others their jobs in the industry. HOWEVER, let's set that aside for a minute.
The seemingly Low Cost model is in my opinion not sustainable! Yes for a time we all benefitted from cheap fares and trainees like me found work due to ever expanding airlines and routes! But at what cost? Crews pay for their own training ( in some cases cabin crew), salaries are in decline, T&C's are continuously being eroded and now pilots pay to fly in a desparate bid to get started! Of the average 28 or so different service personel involved in an aircraft turnaround, ALL have seen their working conditions fall apart in order for airlines to say they sell cheap seats. But do they?????
Yes there are still some great deals available, but as we can see, airlines have to claw back money everywhere in order to advertise a €4.99 return fare! But you may add at least €80 to that before you can print out your own boarding pass and I believe now our favourite airline is charging a fee for online bookings!! So what is to be done, as clearly this business model is failing. Am I missing something? This industry is a complete disaster and it has become a race to the bottom for ALL involved including passengers.
Enough is enough! I as a passenger, no longer want to see my flight advertised free one way, 99cent return and then be charged for a meriad of expenses attached to my ticket! I would be happy to pay a fair price for my journey, so that the industry can find SOME level ground again!
So the question is this, is it time for air fares to rise again and would the public accept it?? Would pax be relieved to finally see only ONE bottom line price to pay when booking a ticket, not outrageous but FAIR?? I think so!
Low Cost airlines need to become Sustainable Cost airlines.