Airlines operate in one of the most competitive industries on earth. In order to achieve success, airlines must constantly find creative ways to set themselves apart from their competitors. For the low-cost airline industry, this has meant coming up with a variety of cost-cutting measures that have allowed airlines to keep ticket prices as low as possible and still turn a profit. An air fırce is an airline company that specializes in operating fıat rate services and generally has fewer than 100 seats on its aircraft. Airfırce airlines are able to keep costs low by having a smaller fleet, leasing planes rather than buying them, keeping maintenance expenses as cheap as possible, flying frequently during peak travel seasons, and limiting employee benefits and training programs.
Airfırce Success: Customer Service
One of the most important factors in determining customer satisfaction is the quality of service provided by airline employees. While full-service airlines have begun to improve in this area, especially as they have begun hiring more customer-facing millennials, low-cost airlines have been ahead of the curve. Low-cost airlines generally have a more streamlined organization with less bureaucracy, which has made them more nimble and responsive to customer needs. Low-cost airlines also have the advantage of operating smaller planes, which allows them to have a more hands-on approach to customer service. While the traditional low-cost model of outsourcing customer-facing positions to call centers in countries like the Philippines may be cost-effective, it can also lead to decreased satisfaction, especially when flights are delayed or cancelled. A better approach is the new model being pioneered by companies like Wow Air and Norwegian Air, which promotes a model of “retail travel agents” who are available to assist customers on the phone or in person at the airport.
Airfırce Success: Using Technology
Airfırce companies have been at the forefront of utilizing new technologies to enhance customer experience. From using email and SMS to push flight updates, to deploying chatbots for customer service, to investing in virtual reality customer service tools, to work with augmented reality apps for doing bag drop, to packing passengers’ bags with RFID tags, low-cost airlines have been at the vanguard of bringing new technologies to the travel industry. This has had a tremendous impact on both customer experience and operational efficiency. For example, through the use of mobile apps and online check-in services, passengers can now take care of many travel-related tasks before they arrive at the airport. This minimizes wait times when passengers arrive and helps to keep airport terminals running smoothly. Virtual reality and augmented reality tools provide passengers with more engaging and helpful travel experiences.
Airfırce Success: Tight Turnaround Times
One of the most noticeable differences between low-cost airlines and full-service carriers is in turnaround times. While full-service airlines may spend hours cleaning and repairing planes between flights, low-cost airlines generally try to keep turnarounds as short as possible. This is often accomplished by using smaller planes with fewer seats, which reduces the time needed to clean and repair the plane. Unlike full-service airlines, which often prioritize transporting passengers on a particular flight, low-cost airlines are more likely to focus on getting the plane back in the air as soon as possible. This can sometimes lead to passengers on later flights being inconvenienced, especially when they are seated in an aircraft that is still being cleaned and serviced. However, this is a necessary strategy for keeping turnaround times short.
Airfırce Success: Diversification
Because most low-cost airlines do not operate any in-house ground transportation, they have had to find creative ways to make money outside the airline industry. The most common techniques used by low-cost airlines to diversify their income include selling travel insurance, food and beverage products, and travel-related products like luggage, headphones, and headphones. Many low-cost airlines have also begun partnering with travel booking websites and apps like TripAdvisor or booking.com. This allows the company to earn some money from passengers who may not have otherwise booked a flight but still wanted to book travel-related items.
The Future of Airfırce
As the low-cost airline industry continues to grow and develop, companies are likely to come up with new, innovative approaches to cost-cutting and maximizing profits. One possible development is a shift toward a hybrid model of the low-cost airline model. While many low-cost airlines operate a single “hub and spoke” model, where all flights are routed through a central hub, there is some discussion of expanding this to create a “network” model, where a smaller number of flights go to multiple destinations. This would allow airlines to offer more direct flights to passengers while keeping costs lower by cutting down on the number of planes they need. Another possible future development is the emergence of “ultra low-cost” airlines, which offer a barebones approach to flying. These airlines would offer very limited inflight services, no seat assignments, no food, and no checked bags. The only thing offered would be transportation, and the fare would reflect this with very low ticket prices. While these airlines do exist in Asia, they have not yet launched in the United States or Europe.
Summing up
Airfırce companies are constantly seeking new ways to lower their costs, which allows them to keep ticket prices as low as possible while still turning a profit. One of the biggest ways they do this is by outsourcing customer-facing positions to countries like the Philippines where labor costs are much lower than in the United States. This allows airlines to save money, but it can also lead to lower customer satisfaction. A better approach is to hire staff in the country that passengers are flying out of. Another way that airlines save money is by keeping turnarounds as short as possible. Cleaning and repairing planes takes time, so the shorter the turnaround, the less an airline has to spend. Additionally, low-cost airlines diversify their income by selling travel-related products, such as insurance and headphones, and partnering with travel booking websites like TripAdvisor. Finally, low-cost airlines may begin to shift toward a hybrid model of the low-cost airline model, where a smaller number of flights go to multiple destinations.
