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New cures for the common carrier
How many times have you been stuck on a runway and looked out at all the colorful logos of mystery planes rolling by, trying to guess their provenance? Well, what's mysterious to you is what a growing number of travelers already know. Namely, that some newer and lesser-known airlines are offering better prices and, sometimes, better routes than older, more established carriers. Whether they’re selling cheaper tickets on alternative routes or more affordable business-class service to popular destinations, a spate of airlines have taken off. And they’re filling the holes legacy carriers have left in the marketplace.
Small wonder: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicts airline passenger growth rates of around six percent annually through 2009. And, the number of passengers is set to double by 2020. The world's largest airlines can't keep up with demand, let alone cater to every market niche. It’s left to new players like Virgin America, Eos and Vueling to step up to the tarmac, so to speak.
Some of these new airlines offer business-class only cabins, such as Silverjet (New York to London and London to Dubai); others are simply low-cost carriers. Besides their newness, what they have in common are certain asymmetries—you read correctly—that result in what would at first seem like unlikely new travel scenarios. For example, the “Merry Sivilised” $919 fare on Silverjet from New York to London (one-way) may put you in a business-class environment with no more than 100 other passengers (instead of the usual 181), but that 767 is hardly a new aircraft: Silverjet's 767s were that plane's first model, launched in 1978. But hop aboard a budget Vueling flight from Madrid to Paris, and you're flying on an Airbus A320 less than two years old.
See our slideshow of 10 Up-and-Coming Airlines.
Another seeming anomaly: While no industry-wide figures are available, empirical evidence points to the growing appeal of the fancy all-business class transatlantic carriers like L'Avion and Silverjet for leisure travelers, and of low-cost giants like Europe's EasyJet and Vueling for business travelers. According to Marissa Wolf, L’Avion’s spokesperson in New York, “The comfort offered by a 100% business class aircraft makes it possible for the leisure customers to fully benefit from their stay either in the United States or in France without feeling the tiredness of hard travel in economy class.”
L'Avion launched its Paris-Newark roundtrip service with an inaugural flight on January 7, 2007, using a 757 aircraft configured for just 90 passengers. (A typical 757 can seat 220.) At present, L'Avion is the only long-haul carrier providing service to the United States from Orly, Charles de Gaulle Airport’s predecessor that’s closer to central Paris. “We target passengers like business or coach passengers who want to spend less money on their flight but with a premium service,” Wolf says. The company’s formula seems to be working: L’Avion’s second plane, another 757 reconfigured for 90 passengers, begins service in January 2008.
Upstart Virgin America looks set to give JetBlue a run for its money. It launched in August, 2007, with nonstop service between New York JFK and LAX and JFK-San Francisco. Like JetBlue, its fleet is made up entirely of that lean, mean flying machine, the Airbus A320. And whatever PR thunder JetBlue stole (unwittingly or otherwise) from Virgin Atlantic when it began flying in 2000—snack offerings and leather seats in coach—Virgin America is now poised to take back with perks like mood lighting and MP3s galore, plus a fare structure meant to attract the kind of brash but budget-conscious traveler coveted by JetBlue.
Vueling is a Spanish airline based in Barcelona with hubs in that city as well as Madrid and Paris. It operates on a low-cost model using modern Airbus A319s and A320s. What makes this airline a find for the North American traveler? Imagine you’re spending time in Madrid or Paris and feel like making a last-minute trip within a trip. You could find airfares to places like Venice or Palma de Mallorca on Alitalia or Iberia, of course, but chances are those prices will be on the high side. And considering that so many inter-European flights are short (generally under two hours), does it really make sense to part with all that extra cash just to go with a brand that's better-known but provides the same service? (And you get to enjoy little perks like an in-flight magazine that reads like a Benetton catalog, that is to say it’s so artsy that it makes little actual sense – but then aren't you tired of the SkyMall already?)
On the other side of the world, there's a lot going on too, such as Viva Macau and, in India, Kingfisher Airlines. Despite having a logo that’s also plastered on beer cans throughout the subcontinent, this airline is a serious contender in a hot market.
See our slideshow of Up-and-Coming Airlines.
