What I'd like from a low cost Long Haul flight, PPRuNe Airlines
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For me, IFE restricted to the moving route map - in English...
Why should the IFE be restricted to the route map? No-one is going to force you to watch movies, but other passengers might like to do so to while away a 10-hour journey.
And why should the map only be in English?
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The only purpose i can imagine to this would be the glare/light from your neighbours seat on a nightflight, however, the map would emit as much light as a movie? Unless of course, you just like a nosey!
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In a low-cost operation, the moving map could be replaced by a map in the in-flight magazine showing the aircraft's anticipated position at 30-minute intervals.
After all, long-haul low-cost is going to have to be a rock-bottom, no-frills experience because almost the entire cost of a long-haul flight these days is accounted for by taxes, charges and the cost of fuel. The suggestions above for "good-size, comfy seats" with generous legroom, free wine and beer and more toilets (which will reduce the number of seats) are pure fantasy: even legacy airlines cannot offer this any more.
The airlines know that many (most) people these days choose their airline purely on cost and will willingly forego facilities, frills and customer service in order to shave a couple of euros off the cost. I would therefore expect such an operation to involve:
After all, long-haul low-cost is going to have to be a rock-bottom, no-frills experience because almost the entire cost of a long-haul flight these days is accounted for by taxes, charges and the cost of fuel. The suggestions above for "good-size, comfy seats" with generous legroom, free wine and beer and more toilets (which will reduce the number of seats) are pure fantasy: even legacy airlines cannot offer this any more.
The airlines know that many (most) people these days choose their airline purely on cost and will willingly forego facilities, frills and customer service in order to shave a couple of euros off the cost. I would therefore expect such an operation to involve:
- Flights to and from remote airfields with minimal facilities, involving a lengthy road journey to your final destination.
- Seats packed even more closely together than they are currently in long-haul cattle class.
- Charging for seat selection and baggage.
- Charging for everything consumed on board, whether it be food, drink or entertainment.
- Inflight games, e-mail, internet and telephone calls at extortionate cost.
Last edited by Rusland 17; 11th Apr 2010 at 04:47.
Rusland
The thread title is 'what I want', and the only IFE I want is the moving map. I'm not even too bothered about that. As for names in English, it is bizarre to only have the names of English (and even more so, Welsh) towns in Spanish, as happens on occasion.
The rest depends on what you mean by 'low cost'.
You could argue that costs have dropped remarkably on legacy airlines. My first Business Class trip to Chicago in 1980 cost £1700 return. A similar trip now is around £6600 - just under 4 times as much. Salaries have gone up by much more than 4 times in the last 30 years - even working half time, my salary is still 5 times what it was then.
I guess that i'm unusual in that I'm prepared to pay for comfort, and not go chasing every penny. If I can't go in comfort, I don't go. I've done more than enough miles as pax on business in the last thirty years that flying to foreign countries has no great attraction for me any longer.
The thread title is 'what I want', and the only IFE I want is the moving map. I'm not even too bothered about that. As for names in English, it is bizarre to only have the names of English (and even more so, Welsh) towns in Spanish, as happens on occasion.
The rest depends on what you mean by 'low cost'.
You could argue that costs have dropped remarkably on legacy airlines. My first Business Class trip to Chicago in 1980 cost £1700 return. A similar trip now is around £6600 - just under 4 times as much. Salaries have gone up by much more than 4 times in the last 30 years - even working half time, my salary is still 5 times what it was then.
I guess that i'm unusual in that I'm prepared to pay for comfort, and not go chasing every penny. If I can't go in comfort, I don't go. I've done more than enough miles as pax on business in the last thirty years that flying to foreign countries has no great attraction for me any longer.
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Zoom had it right
Zoom Airlines Canada had it right for a low cost long haul carrier. Their 767s were comfortably equipped and smart. In particular they had a large premium cabin using regular seats with increased pitch; all you really need to be comfortable. No frills, just good service at a good price. Bottled water supplied. Excellent WEB site for booking and seat selection.
They provided a good service between Canada and the UK, especially to regional UK airports. I miss them!
They provided a good service between Canada and the UK, especially to regional UK airports. I miss them!
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Niallo - Just for the sake of a discussion - Zoom went under: Does this tell us something about the business model and the facilities that you mention?
For everybody: Bottled water comes at a cost - not just the item cost, but the cost of loading it also, and of course the cost in fuel of carrying it on every flight. I'm not trying to rule it out, just to remind that there is a cost, which would probably be anathema to a low-cost operation.
IFE is a cost item to the airline: The weight of the servers, wiring loom and screens are surprisingly high, and therefore burn fuel. The payments to the content providers are also quite high. An aircraft purchased without IFE fitted might suffer at time of re-sale, and it might be difficult to find an aircraft without IFE fitted in the first place - unless you're going long-haul on something like a 757-200/300 or 737-800.
Duty Free sales subsidise the seat cost: Dumping sales affects the seat price.
I entirely understand why you might want these, and all the other stuff - The OP was asking about a 'Low-Cost' Long-Haul Airline, and most of the suggestions made seem at first sight to fly in the face of the Low-Cost model.
For everybody: Bottled water comes at a cost - not just the item cost, but the cost of loading it also, and of course the cost in fuel of carrying it on every flight. I'm not trying to rule it out, just to remind that there is a cost, which would probably be anathema to a low-cost operation.
IFE is a cost item to the airline: The weight of the servers, wiring loom and screens are surprisingly high, and therefore burn fuel. The payments to the content providers are also quite high. An aircraft purchased without IFE fitted might suffer at time of re-sale, and it might be difficult to find an aircraft without IFE fitted in the first place - unless you're going long-haul on something like a 757-200/300 or 737-800.
Duty Free sales subsidise the seat cost: Dumping sales affects the seat price.
I entirely understand why you might want these, and all the other stuff - The OP was asking about a 'Low-Cost' Long-Haul Airline, and most of the suggestions made seem at first sight to fly in the face of the Low-Cost model.
Paxing All Over The World
TS
Indeed, including most of what the OP stated in their OP!!!
The next major move in the airline world is to claw it back to being profitable. That means consolidation of the old players into the new ones and other oldies seeking comfort with each other. If they get it right then they can drag prices back up. THEN there is an opportunity for a low cost LH model to be tried. Except that it has been tried before . Mostly, what works is the middle ground with a carrier having, 2, 3 or 4 class a/c to the same destination. The all-cheap and all-expensive work in only narrow circumstances.
Perhaps some of the carriers that fail will try to do LoCo in LH but I doubt it because, once they fail, the a/c are in the control of the financing companies and they make the decisions.
The OP was asking about a 'Low-Cost' Long-Haul Airline, and most of the suggestions made seem at first sight to fly in the face of the Low-Cost model.
The next major move in the airline world is to claw it back to being profitable. That means consolidation of the old players into the new ones and other oldies seeking comfort with each other. If they get it right then they can drag prices back up. THEN there is an opportunity for a low cost LH model to be tried. Except that it has been tried before . Mostly, what works is the middle ground with a carrier having, 2, 3 or 4 class a/c to the same destination. The all-cheap and all-expensive work in only narrow circumstances.
Perhaps some of the carriers that fail will try to do LoCo in LH but I doubt it because, once they fail, the a/c are in the control of the financing companies and they make the decisions.
