Discount airlines add frills to offer quality travel

Although discount airlines in Europe and the United States have pioneered the no-frills model—where passengers are usually left paying for everything from coffee, tea and sandwiches, to checked luggage, in exchange for a cheap ticket—some carriers are now trying to lure business passengers by offering upgrades and extra service for very low prices. According to analysts presenting at a conference focused on the discount airline model, an increasing number of companies are offering extras, like more leg room and even airport lounge access, for nominal additional fees.

Some discount airlines, like Germanwings, is already offering many of these upgrades, allowing customers to still pay low airfares, but potentially enjoy some of the same services they would expect to receive on a flag carrier. An increasing number of carriers are jettisoning some of the golden rules of the no-frills industry—like flying to cheaper, secondary airports—by starting up new routes to hubs located closer to city centres, or ones that offer better connections to other flights. Spanish-based Clickair, for example, is among the first discount airlines to fly passengers to primary airports.

About 20% of low cost carriers are also emulating full-service airlines by offering loyalty programs, in order to keep customers coming back and to attract businesspeople as well. Although most no-frills airlines focused almost exclusively on the leisurely traveler, looking for the lowest rates, many have now realized that their long-term success depends on enticing businesspeople as well and getting corporate clients, who fly all year and not just during the peak summer months, or the December holiday season.