No-frills go long-haul

There are always trade offs when it comes to purchasing an airline ticket. Does one opt for the financially best option, flying with the no-frills carriers or put out a little extra cash for the more well established airlines? Until recently, this was only a dilemma when buying short-haul flights. Budget airlines operating in Europe, North America and Asia offered great deals but only on short flights. That’s all changing now with the introduction of budget long haul flights by budget airlines.

Mark Exton flies regularly between London and Hong Kong for business. But with Cathay Pacific charging $8,000 for a round trip ticket on the route, he had to look at alternatives. Until recently, he had to pick airlines that offered comfort and good prices, but not a direct route.

Then he discovered budget airline, Oasis Hong Kong. The airline ahs three 747s and offers daily non-stop service between Hong Kong and London. Unlike other budget airlines, the airline has two classes of seating: economy and business class. Unlike Cathay Pacific, business class seats go for around $230 one way or $980 return.

“They’re half the price of B.A. or Cathay, but with nearly the same levels of comfort and services,” said Mr. Exton. “And because there’s no transfer involved, you get on the plane, get some sleep and arrive ready for work.”

Since the long-haul route between Hong Kong and London has proved to be so successful, the airline is now seeking licenses to fly between Hong Kong and other destinations like Chicago, Italy, San Francisco and Germany.

“We saw that 20 percent of the Hong Kong-to-London market was traveling via hubs to save money,” said Stephen Miller, chief executive of Oasis, which added Hong Kong-to-Vancouver flights in June. “So we were confident there was a market for this type of new airline.”

In the near future, it seems likely that Oasis will be joined by other budget carriers getting into the long-haul game. Air Asia, which offers no-frills flights from Malaysia, is developing Air Asia X to offer long-haul flights beginning in November to locations in Australia. South Korea, the Middle East, China, Japan and India may also be added in the near future.

www.cathaypacific.com