Travel Bits: February 2018

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Low Cost Carrier.......

With Low Cost Carriers (LCC) sprouting like mushrooms after a heavy tropical downpour, many are jumping on the air travel bandwagon. In a way, this is a good thing for those travellers who otherwise may not be able to afford to travel to far flung destinations due to the previously relatively prohibitive costs of air travel.

A Scoot A320 plane on the tarmac of the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport, Ipoh, Malaysia (2017)

But for those where cost is not such a big deterrent, is LCC the way to travel? As the name suggests, LCC basically means no-frills air travel. And because most LCCs operate on very tight schedule amidst other business-related constraints, this usually means that if there is a technical issue either with equipment (i.e airplanes) or operations such flight delays due to inclement weather, staff shift planning and other related issues, there will be downstream impact on the traveller such as prolonged delays at airports or even last-minute cancellation of the flight.

After doing up my personal assessment on the overall cost of flying including additional travel insurance as well as costs for seat selection, check-in luggages and meals, I believe that flying with a full-service airline is usually only a little bit more expensive compared to using the services of a LCC. For me, the difference in cost between a full service airline and an LCC is the additional comfort I get to enjoy, including the in-flight amenities and the assurances that the probabilities of travel delays are greatly reduced. 

However, I do fly with LCCs when the cost differential of that air ticket compared to a full-service airline is too great. Or when I am on a short vacation to a nearby destination with a total flight time of 4-hours or less. In cases where no full-service airlines fly the route that I will be travelling on, then I am obviously left without much of a choice. 

All said and done, LCCs who provide great service and good value-for-money do exist. I have had happy experiences flying with LCCs to places as far away as the Maldives from Singapore with total flying time of just under 5 hours. Other destinations that I had travelled to on LCCs include 4-hour flights to and from Shenzhen (China) and under 2-hour flights to and from several cities in Malaysia. 

Do some research online before you book that air ticket and you may be surprised with how far your travel dollar can take you.  

Happy travelling in 2018 to everyone reading this and may your travels be filled with great experiences and interesting encounters. 

The interior of an Airbus A320 aircraft operated by Scoot, an LCC based in Singapore (2017)

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