low-cost - high(er) value

Low-cost carrier ups the frills
Low-cost airline Easyjet has been trialling a "fast-track" service for
passengers who may just happen to want something more than no-frills.
The carrier, which keeps its ticket prices down by cutting overheads deemed
unnecessary, operates a non-reserved seating policy.

But after checking in, passengers on flights out of Luton have been able to
avoid possible queues and a scramble for seats by paying £10 for an
early-boarding privilege.

"Business people might like to have a particular seat so they would be able
to leave the plane quickly on arrival," a spokeswoman explained.

Airport lounges

Faced with intense competition in the sector from the likes of Ryanair,
Easyjet has also been looking at other ways of boosting revenue by providing
facilities more akin to the traditional airlines.

The company confirms it has been considering introducing airport lounges and
has long weighed up the attractions of a frequent flyer programme.

All the low-cost carriers have managed to win favour with the increasingly
price-conscious business sector.

Easyjet believes corporate travellers may now be happy to part with a little
bit of extra cash for added convenience.

A spokeswoman said the fast-track scheme was being offered up until Thursday
to 10 passengers on each flight when they check in.

The scheme was not promoted in advance and there "has been a varied take
up," she said.

"We are always looking at the practicalities of introducing new services."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/h...ss/4249751.stm

Published: 2005/02/09 17:07:16 GMT

© BBC MMV

On Thu, 10 Feb 2005 10:47:52 -0000, "Miss L. Toe"
wrote:

Low-cost airline Easyjet has been trialling a "fast-track" service for
[snip]
But after checking in, passengers on flights out of Luton have been able to
avoid possible queues and a scramble for seats by paying £10 for an
early-boarding privilege.

"Business people might like to have a particular seat so they would be able
to leave the plane quickly on arrival," a spokeswoman explained.

Virgin Blue in Australia have something similar in with seating.
Passengers can pay extra for the seats with more leg room - it's
called the 'Blue Zone'.

Airport lounges

Faced with intense competition in the sector from the likes of Ryanair,
Easyjet has also been looking at other ways of boosting revenue by providing
facilities more akin to the traditional airlines.

Again, Virgin Blue have a 'Blue Room' - their cheap version of an
airline lounge. A trial entry is available for AUD 5 (GBP 2.10), or
an annual pass is AUD 199 (GBP 83)

It'll be interesting to see the Easyjet pricing if it goes ahead.
Priority Pass offers lounge access in airports all over the world, but
isn't cheap!

--
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet and in e-mail?

"Jason" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 10 Feb 2005 10:47:52 -0000, "Miss L. Toe"
wrote:

Low-cost airline Easyjet has been trialling a "fast-track" service for
[snip]
But after checking in, passengers on flights out of Luton have been able
to
avoid possible queues and a scramble for seats by paying £10 for an
early-boarding privilege.

"Business people might like to have a particular seat so they would be
able
to leave the plane quickly on arrival," a spokeswoman explained.

Virgin Blue in Australia have something similar in with seating.
Passengers can pay extra for the seats with more leg room - it's
called the 'Blue Zone'.

Airport lounges

Faced with intense competition in the sector from the likes of Ryanair,
Easyjet has also been looking at other ways of boosting revenue by
providing
facilities more akin to the traditional airlines.

Again, Virgin Blue have a 'Blue Room' - their cheap version of an
airline lounge. A trial entry is available for AUD 5 (GBP 2.10), or
an annual pass is AUD 199 (GBP 83)

It'll be interesting to see the Easyjet pricing if it goes ahead.
Priority Pass offers lounge access in airports all over the world, but
isn't cheap!

--
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet and in e-mail?


I've always found Priorty Pass lounges to be pretty poor.
And I assume that No Frills lounges will also be similar.
Sure you get free drinks and snacks (poor packets of salted snack usually)
And it's quiet and you get clean toilets.

But for the price. The main airport lounges with their retailers and
assorted food and beverage counters are better value.
If you require peace and quiet there are always spots at heathrow, gatwick
and stansted for some quiet contemplation.

Where the lounges do excel in are with the big airlines like BA and Virgin
and Star Alliances lounges like BMI.
The have all the freebies but also have useful things like business centres,
and internet access.
The food and drinks selection is also much greater. BA virtually run a free
cafe in their lounges.
Also thing like being right next to the gates. I doubt the no frills can do
this at bigger airports like Gatwick and Stansted.
They are also nice places to go to with lots of nice design. Smaller lounges
like priorty sometimes feel like a room at the side.


A.

"londoncityslicker" wrote in message
...

"Jason" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 10 Feb 2005 10:47:52 -0000, "Miss L. Toe"
wrote:

Low-cost airline Easyjet has been trialling a "fast-track" service for
[snip]
But after checking in, passengers on flights out of Luton have been able
to
avoid possible queues and a scramble for seats by paying £10 for an
early-boarding privilege.

"Business people might like to have a particular seat so they would be
able
to leave the plane quickly on arrival," a spokeswoman explained.

Virgin Blue in Australia have something similar in with seating.
Passengers can pay extra for the seats with more leg room - it's
called the 'Blue Zone'.

Airport lounges

Faced with intense competition in the sector from the likes of Ryanair,
Easyjet has also been looking at other ways of boosting revenue by
providing
facilities more akin to the traditional airlines.

Again, Virgin Blue have a 'Blue Room' - their cheap version of an
airline lounge. A trial entry is available for AUD 5 (GBP 2.10), or
an annual pass is AUD 199 (GBP 83)

It'll be interesting to see the Easyjet pricing if it goes ahead.
Priority Pass offers lounge access in airports all over the world, but
isn't cheap!

--
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet and in e-mail?


I've always found Priorty Pass lounges to be pretty poor.
And I assume that No Frills lounges will also be similar.
Sure you get free drinks and snacks (poor packets of salted snack usually)
And it's quiet and you get clean toilets.

Depends on the particular club. I've been in crappy Priority Pass lounges
(LHR is a good example), and decent ones (In Zurich they use the same lounge
I used as a BusinessFirst passenger on Contnental). They also have access
to airline lounges operated by AeroMexico, LAN, Korean, Continental, Delta,
Northwest, United, Air Canada and US Airways, so like everything else, they
have some decent ones.

But for the price. The main airport lounges with their retailers and
assorted food and beverage counters are better value.
If you require peace and quiet there are always spots at heathrow, gatwick
and stansted for some quiet contemplation.

Where the lounges do excel in are with the big airlines like BA and Virgin
and Star Alliances lounges like BMI.
The have all the freebies but also have useful things like business
centres,
and internet access.
The food and drinks selection is also much greater. BA virtually run a
free
cafe in their lounges.

Also thing like being right next to the gates. I doubt the no frills can
do
this at bigger airports like Gatwick and Stansted.
They are also nice places to go to with lots of nice design. Smaller
lounges
like priorty sometimes feel like a room at the side.

Depends again on the airport and the lounge operator.

A.