LCCs are taking up the global market by storm

Location: Asia

Nowadays, full service carriers have taken the backseat and low-cost carriers or LCCs are taking up the global market by storm. Business and leisure travel need not be ostentatious. Passengers still demand for quality service but now expect only the essentials such as comfort, safety and reliability. Because of stiff competition, LCCs are improving on their business models and customer friendliness to attract and maintain patrons.

Passengers now have the upper hand to choose from an array of airline carriers and consequently bringing down the cost to travel domestically and abroad. Understandably, there are services in full service carriers that are not available in some LCCs. To get more mileage on your hard-earned money (and avoid unexpected costs), here is a list that highlights LCC services:

Promo fares are 6-10 months in advance of departure date
On average, regular fares of LCCs are 10-30% cheaper than full service carriers. Imagine if these went on sale! To stimulate passenger growth, emerging Asian carriers have been known to write-off entire fare fees, with only items like fuel surcharge and travel tax for the customer to pay. Like any other carrier, fares become more expensive the closer the booking date is to the departure date. Passengers must be prepared to plan their vacation at least 6 months before their travel dates. LCCs have high “no show” revenues from passengers who fail to show up on time or altogether decided to forego their flights; precisely because of the fact that most passengers are not able to plan their schedules in advance. There is a buying frenzy for LCC promo fares/ rates. Don’t join in the craziness if you haven’t even decided which country you want to visit.

Rebooking fees
Because LCC promo fares are inherently cheap, some LCC carriers charge rebooking fees (nothing unusual about this) plus the difference between the booked promo fare and the regular fare (now this is peculiar); which in some occasions, would jack up the actual fare to as much a full service carrier would for an economy class. If you fail to check-in on time or pull a no-show on your flight date, expect to shell out more than the usual rebooking fees.

Check-in baggage
Traveling cheap means packing sensibly as well. The surge in fuel prices push airlines to reduce the maximum allowable weight on hand-carried luggage and increase per unit charge on check-in baggage. For most LCCs, you can maximize your hand-carried luggage as long as it fits the dimensions of the cabin and the extra space below your seat (not common in full service carriers). At most you can probably fit 2-3 bags using the cabin and space below your seat. Check the airlines website beforehand for the cabin and seat dimensions.

A few more tips to really budget your travels and still have fun at it:

No Visa Policy
For people living in most of the ASEAN countries, visa issuances and fees are waived to stimulate tourism within the region. It’s no wonder that Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines have been the frontrunners in terms of foreign visitor arrivals.

Pension houses / traveler’s inns
Save the 4 to 5 star accommodation for your honeymoon. Go backpacker style and get to the heartbeat of the city by living in pension houses and traveler’s inns. Pension houses are usually run by the locals themselves – they can double as your tour guide. On the other hand, it’s a big melting pot for inns as you meet tourists from all corners of the globe. Some are probably more experienced than you are in world travel; a good source on how to get around a foreign city as well.

“Pasalubong”
Unique to Filipino culture, we can all benefit from cutting back on this. Our country, like the rest of the world, is enjoying free trade and globalization. Did you really need to buy your officemates that bag of assorted chocolate bars from Hong Kong? I swear I saw the exact same assortment in Puregold Supermarket. We can’t seem to write this off altogether as it’s a culture thing, but I like how my Australian boss brings nothing more than his recharged and revitalized self after being Sydney-bound for one month. I’d be crushed if he gave out Bindi Irwin memorabilia.