Tagged With "ultra-low-cost"
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Re: France Train Service, SNCF, Expands Low Cost Trains and Buses
It's great news for budget travelers. I took the Ouigo train from to Marseille in 2013 and loved it.
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Re: New trend? Some airlines end toll-free calls
Yet another drop in service, but one that likely will have minimal impact on most customers. If it saves millions of dollars, and the savings are used to reduce company overhead (say instead of bonuses for executives), I think consumers will be supportive.
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
We flew Norwegian in May, Orlando-Oslo and were really impressed. The 787 made such a difference and we arrived feeling fresh. The moister air, bigger windows and lighting made a world of difference in how we felt post trip. We brought a decent sized carry-on and personal bag each for free too. As far other extra fees, we didn't pay any. They charge for food or drinks, but we just bought those at the airport. And I think they also charge for blankets, but we brought jackets to cover with and...
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
This is sounding very promising, Rob. I can think of no reason to pay more money to pay with miles than for a ticket on Norwegian. I have enough miles to go around the world and only the first leg (or last, depending) is more expensive using miles. It makes no sense. So you were able to carry on your main bag plus a smaller one? I'm speaking of the limits for discounted coach tickets (aka "steerage").
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
Amazing the way these calculations work out. We're going to England next spring, using American Airlines points. The flight selection offered us flights on British Airways and American. The AA flights cost the points plus government fees. The BA flights cost the points plus the government fees, plus enough surcharges to make a $1000+ difference. If I only had the BA flights, I'd certainly rather find a low-cost carrier! It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming year as Aer...
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
The carry-on limits are posted on the site. Still we were a little worried but there were no problems. We each took a carry-on and a personal bag on for free. A note that my same carry-on was too big for Air China so Norwegian had decent limits.
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
The website states the limits for a carry-on bag are (approximately, stated in cm) 21 x 16 x 9 inches, and 10 kilos/22 pounds. Plus a "small" item that fits comfortably under the seat. Were your bags within these guidelines, Rob?
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
I think that's very similar to American Airlines carry-on allowance. A lot better than EasyJets etc. Whether my bag was over, I can't say. My original bag was lost by Megabus, if you can believe it, so I had a different bag and clothes than what I was planning on The thing about the 787 is there's actually room for the carry-on. in the overhead.
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
I've checked my bag for years but it sounds like in this case it'd be worthwhile to pack light and carry it on. My usual, without trying, is about 13 kilos, so 10 isn't a huge stretch. Sounding like an interesting possibility.
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
I was just reading a Chris Elliott piece on when people get so fed up with air travel they stop flying altogether. He interviewed a man who owned a travel company, Spencer Carlson and the positive airline example he gave was Norwegian. So it seems like my good experience is the norm with them. Here is this link: http://www.seattletimes.com/li...-to-take-it-anymore/
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
I can live indefinitely with 2 sets of clothes, 1 to wear & 1 to wash, 1 extra pair of shoes, all in a day pack. I wouldn't necessarily WANT to do it, but I could, rather than stop flying if, say, the airlines reduced baggage limits to 10 pounds altogether. It's the same old story, I figure, if for any reason, you can't or won't travel (time, money, fed up, whatever), you just don't want to enough. One excuse is as good as another. Good to hear about Norwegian. I repeated the exercise...
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
Continuing my search for an economical way to use my miles and avoid absurd fees, I tried a combination of 2 one-way flights, one with miles, one on Norwegian. One way on Norwegian is as low as $286. If I avoid using BA with points, flights on AA to Paris are 20,000 miles (before May 15th) plus a $5 fee (excellent!) but with a stupid schedule, 3 flights and 2 days to get there. And 1 possibility available. All the rest are BA flights, $326 in fees + 20,000 miles. Next thought, why is AA...
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
The AA-BA mashup is tricky, yes, but not as devious as it may seem. Between New York and Paris, for instance, AA has only two non-stops a day; BA has a half-dozen (or more, including Open Skies). And, BA has many seats LON-PAR, so availability is greater. A similar situation exists on this side of the ocean, where BA feeds many AA domestic flights. It's sometimes possible to get around better if you don't mind one stop...we've used AA to Madrid paired with Iberia to Paris (Iberia's charges...
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Re: Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
Call it whatever you like, but I seem to have missed your point. But, no matter, MY point was simply that I see no excuse for charging astonishingly different prices for the same product, transportation from point A to point B, on partner airlines ostensibly selling the same thing.
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Re: Why tickets stay high while fuel prices drop
I think I'm seeing better ticket prices than I have for several years now, so I'm not sure if this is completely true. But it could just represent a biased sampling (Canada, more than US flights).
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Re: Why tickets stay high while fuel prices drop
Overall, for U.S. airlines, the trend is up; last month all the majors went along with a $2 average increase on almost all fares. Those fares, of course, are subject to competitive discounting on specific flights or routes; Alaska and Delta have been battling over the Seattle market all year, for example, affecting prices on those routes.
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Re: Why tickets stay high while fuel prices drop
With Airline consolidation the last few years and some budget airlines changing their image and prices, there doesn't seem to be that downword pressure for most prices in the US
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Re: Why tickets stay high while fuel prices drop
The cost of an Airline Ticket has little to do with the cost of a barrel of oil. That's why I can fly to Sydney Australia for the same price as I can to New York. That's 3500 miles to New York or 10,500 miles to Sydney. Same price. It's solely based on the principle of how much juice you can squeeze from an orange.
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Re: Why tickets stay high while fuel prices drop
While it's true that competition and cupidity rather than cost are the basis of pricing, fuel does factor in: when fuel is high, the airlines add surcharges, and when fuel costs drop, they seldom remove them!
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Re: Why tickets stay high while fuel prices drop
Airlines and many other companies are determined to squeeze the public to the last drop of juice. Take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_fixing_cases and see that there's no honour amongst thieves. Steal from one man and its theft. Steal from a thousand and its Corporate Policy.
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Re: Europe's cost-of-living has wide range
There are websites devoted to helping people sort out the possibilities worldwide. This is one I've found useful: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings.jsp
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Re: Ultra budget, NewLeaf Travel, offering bargain Canadian airfares
Their route map is very limited, but I wish them well. Canada really needs an airline like this.
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Re: Ultra budget, NewLeaf Travel, offering bargain Canadian airfares
For years Canada has had great international fares and lousy domestic ones. This and other budget airlines on the horizon should do a great deal to help Canadians travel within their own country too
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Re: Ultra budget, NewLeaf Travel, offering bargain Canadian airfares
Good news for New Leaf. The authorities have given the company permission to start selling its discounted flights in Canada. More on this update at this link .
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Re: Ultra budget, NewLeaf Travel, offering bargain Canadian airfares
NewLeaf is grounded, at least temporarily, as the Canadian is reviewing it's license. Will issue refunds for tickets already sold. Read more at this link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...a-reaction-1.3409694
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Re: Ultra budget, NewLeaf Travel, offering bargain Canadian airfares
Since the Canadian Transportation Agency has been looking into this issue of whether Indirect Service Providers should be required to hold a license, I'm surprised NewLeaf Travel didn't hold off before on selling tickets until this issue was settled https://www.otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/...ement-hold-a-licence
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Re: Ultra budget, NewLeaf Travel, offering bargain Canadian airfares
I can remember this story so many times from the past 50 years - here in the UK. A new air service provider comes along with hopes of knocking the stuffing out of the "Big Boys". Then, always at the last minute - the most costly time - somebody throws a spanner in the works. Hoping to break the back - or bank - of the new kid on the block.. Dirty tricks again. And it wont be the last. And you never find out who started the fight. http://www.independent.co.uk/n...s-dirty-1478010.html
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Re: Ultra budget, NewLeaf Travel, offering bargain Canadian airfares
I agree with Garry. The timing of this is very suspicious.
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Re: Behind the Rides: Orlando leads U.S. in visits and low-wage jobs
I am not sure if an employee working in tourism in NYC would have a higher quality of life even if paid more. Orlando at least is cheap. Also many folks in the tourist trade make a lot of their earnings from tips which rarely are fully reported as income. So I never know what to make of studies like this
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Why tickets stay high while fuel prices drop
You may have noted the recent drop in gas prices at the pump. The airlines have noticed it, too, with a $1.6 billion savings in fuel costs over recent months. So why do the prices of tickets stay so high...and even rise? An AP travel article...
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They believe they can fly...but signs are not good!
America's most persistent attempt at starting a new airline is out there again, looking for crowdfunding to get off the ground. First as Family Airlines, and since 2010 as Avatar Airlines, they've been trying for take-off since 1992, with plans for an...
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AA talks tough on discount competition, sees change ahead
American Airlines, the world's largest air carrier, isn't planning to let any Davids mess with its Goliath market share. CEO Doug Parker says that if smaller rivals take advantage of fuel price drops to add seats and then discount them to take market...
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Not just passengers want free WiFi...ask Spirit!
Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant are U.S. ultra-low-cost carriers famous for wanting a nickel for everything they don't charge a dime for—and they're also among the very few U.S. carriers not offering WiFi. If you've wondered why,...
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More river cruises cancelled, but some hopeful signs
CroisiEurope's Leonardo da Vinci on the Neckar at Heidelberg Continuing problems with low water in European rivers, as described in several recent TG NewsLinks, are disrupting more cruise plans by most operators...but at least some see hope in...
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New trend? Some airlines end toll-free calls
Pay-to-talk may be coming soon to more reservation and customer-service centers Frontier Airlines has announced the end of its toll-free customer service line, joining a number of airlines and other companies who've decided that the cost of...
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Air Miles vs Low Fare Airline
Looking for flights to Europe on which to spend my miles and being astonished by the fees, I had a look on the Norwegian site and was amazed in the other direction, by how cheap the fares were from the West Coast. Until I started trying to...
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Low water puts some European river cruises on hold
Low water in the Danube, 2012 If it seems like only yesterday we were reporting on European river cruises being canceled because high waters were blocking ships from sailing under bridges...well, it was. On May 7, we reported problems on the...
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Europe's cost-of-living has wide range
Gorgeous groceries...but can you afford them? Photo: Lyzadanger / Wikimedia Travelers planning vacations in Europe quickly become aware that some countries are more expensive than others; plenty of us have suffered sticker shock...
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France Train Service, SNCF, Expands Low Cost Trains and Buses
Frances train service, SNCF, is expanding its low cost TGV service, Ouigo and tripling it's fleet of coaches called Ouibus. Ouigo was set up in 2013 to run TGV trains from Paris to the south of France, namely the cities of Lyon,...
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Dec. 8, 2017: Low Force Waterfall, Tees Valley
A lovely English waterfall beautifully captured by photographer Ian Cook.
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Frontier cuts fares 12% and cuts amenities to 0
Denver-based Frontier Airlines, whose goal is to become an "ultra low-cost" carrier, has dropped its fares by about 12% (which works out to about 18% below Southwest on competing routes). The fare cuts come with a big "but" but with no...
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Behind the Rides: Orlando leads U.S. in visits and low-wage jobs
Orlando last year passed New York as the world's and nation's top tourist city, but it also has the lowest median pay of the top 50 U.S. cities, with many of the theme park employees among those living at or below the poverty line, according to...
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Low water again affecting Rhine shipping
Low water levels in the Rhine are causing problems for shipping, and may affect river cruises.
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American joins the 'basic economy' movement
American is shifting gears on competing with the ultra-low-cost carriers; instead of discounting regular fares, it will add a new 'Basic Economy.'
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Cheapest airlines may not be the ones you think!
Sharpen your pencil: The discount and ultra-lowcost carriers are not always the cheapest choice!
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Allegiant dips a toe into the NY market
Ultra-low-cost carrier Allegiant gets its first New York area flights, and also adds Denver and Ogdensburg.
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United, AA to offer "basic economy"—that's the Spirit!
Ultra-low cost carriers like Spirit are pushing the majors into the no-frills arena. United has announced it will follow Delta next year, and offer "basic economy" style fares with no baggage, upgrade or airport privileges, and American has indicated that it's exploring the idea, too. Fares like that—Spirit calls it a "bare fare"—have been the staple of flying on the ULC carriers such as Spirit and Frontier, but the majors have resisted up to now because they have wanted to...
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Value Alliance unites 8 Asian low-cost carriers
Eight Asian low-cost airlines are hooking up their booking and ticketing to make it easier for travelers to choose them over growing rivals.
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Dry winter shakes up Alpine ski and travel industry
Low snowfalls are a big problem for ski resorts in France, Italy and Switzerland, with skiers waiting to the last minute to see where there's snow.
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Frontier adds 42 routes; $39 intro specials posted
Ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier is adding 42 new routes to its network, including two new cities in "over-priced and under-served" areas.