Around 74 percent of travellers surveyed by Skyscanner, a UK-based flight search engine, have said that they would welcome low-cost no-frills airlines for travelling on long-haul routes.
British travellers are ready to give up on the amenities offered by regular airlines on long distance routes, in order to save on costs.
The survey has indicated that 48 percent of around 1,800 travellers polled are willing to give up on more personal space and legroom to travel on low-cost airlines for four hours or more. Around 30 percent of those polled are willing to fly low-cost for more than ten hours on a flight, the equivalent of a flight from Singapore to London.
The results also suggested that some travellers, around 22 percent, may opt to fly low-cost for more modest flying times of four to six hours, and go for traditional airlines with improved amenities when flying longer distances.
Travellers have also rated their indispensable long haul amenities, with 35 percent of them voting for an extra two inches of legroom when travelling on long haul flights, in addition to the legroom that is currently offered by low-cost airlines on their traditional routes, while 14 percent favoured in-flight entertainment, and 9 percent voted for the provision of food and refreshments. Around 18 percent of travellers surveyed stated that complimentary hold baggage on a long haul flight with a low-cost airline would be their preferred amenity.
The company travel editor, Sam Baldwin, said, ‘The results of this survey show there is a definite demand for low cost airlines to operate long haul routes – it appears people are more than happy to surrender some level of comfort in order to satisfy their taste for travel, as long as the price is right. In recent years, low cost airlines have started to introduce more mid haul routes, so it is not unfeasible that long haul routes could be next to be added.’
