Full-service carriers closing the gap with budget airlines

But the same also applies to full-service carriers, and some of them have already started taking advantage of these factors to cut their economy-class fares, closing the gap with the budget carriers.
The Middle East full-service carriers also have the capacity, both in the number ad size of planes, to apply dynamic pricing and subdivide their economy class, allocating a portion of the seats towards budget-conscious long-distance travellers.
By doing so, they succeed in undercutting even budget carriers on their long-haul routes and can still offer full service, including gourmet meals, check-in luggage, loyalty programmes and even lounge access.
Budget airlines also depend heavily on ultra-fast turnaround times, allowing them as many point-to-point flights as possible within a given period. One plane could theoretically make up to 10 flights a day between Singapore and Jakarta, ferrying more than 3,500 passengers.
This would be reduced to 700 passengers on a long-haul flight to Australia, and even fewer on a flight to Europe.
Because of these reasons, long-haul budget carriers are likely to fail.
Bruno Serrien
Straits Times/ANN