kathleen@ihuxw.UUCP (K. S. Romanowski) (04/23/84)
Has anoyone on the net ever travelled and used any of the so-called "discount" airlines (the only one that comes to mind is Peoples Express)? I am particularly interested in overseas travel and where the person had gone, and also which airline was used. I guess that the discount airlines are no-frills, but that is o.k. with me as long as they have a "facility for relieving oneself." Please post to the net or send via electronic mail to: ihuxw!kathleen Thanks in advance.
adm@cbneb.UUCP (05/01/84)
#R:ihuxw:-81100:cbnap:26700001:000:568 cbnap!cmv Apr 24 22:34:00 1984 /***** cbnap:net.travel / ihuxw!kathleen / 9:34 pm Apr 23, 1984 */ Has anoyone on the net ever travelled and used any of the so-called "discount" airlines (the only one that comes to mind is Peoples Express)? I am particularly interested in overseas travel and where the person had gone, and also which airline was used. I guess that the discount airlines are no-frills, but that is o.k. with me as long as they have a "facility for relieving oneself." Please post to the net or send via electronic mail to: ihuxw!kathleen Thanks in advance. /* ---------- */
shaprkg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (05/08/84)
In article <738@cbneb.UUCP> adm@cbneb.UUCP writes: >/***** cbnap:net.travel / ihuxw!kathleen / 9:34 pm Apr 23, 1984 */ > > >Has anoyone on the net ever travelled and used any of the so-called >"discount" airlines (the only one that comes to mind is >Peoples Express)? > >I am particularly interested in overseas travel and where the >person had gone, and also which airline was used. I guess that >the discount airlines are no-frills, but that is o.k. with >me as long as they have a "facility for relieving oneself." > >Please post to the net or send via electronic mail to: ihuxw!kathleen > >Thanks in advance. >/* ---------- */ The term discount airline is a loaded term. Just because an airline calls itself discount does not mean it has the best deal for you. this little tutorial may be of some help. There are four basic ways to get overseas by plane. 1) Commercial standard air such as TWA, Pan Am, KLM, Air France, British Air, etc. 2) Commercial air on certain specialized airlines such as People's Express, World, Capital. 3) Scheduled charter 4) Bulk air. Within each of these categories there are several advantages and disadvantages. I will try to explain in layman's terms. All airlines observe the same safety standards with the FAA and all will have facilities on board but amenities such as food, drinks, movies, and seating density will vary. 1) Commercial standard Typically commercial standard air would be the simplest, most comfortable, most flexible, and most expensive means of travel. The latter case, however, does not have to be true. There are sometimes inexpensive fares which take on special circumstances. e.g. children's fares, military fares, special fares used in conjuction with a tour (particularly important in Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Africa, South America and Caribbean), group fares, stand-by fares. In addition these airlines tend to inter-line their fares so that you may go into one country and return from a different country. Also, certain fares tend to allow unlimited stopovers within the mileage. Thus by paying extra on the initial fare you might be able to get a ticket from US to London to Paris to Frankfurt to Rome to Athens and back to Zurich to Copenhagen to Amsterdam and home all for the price of a US - Athens round-trip. Finally, most standard airlines have add-ons from interior cities which are much cheaper than the standard fares. This means that if you start your trip from Boise or Little Rock as opposed to New York or Los Angeles you could save a considerable amount of money. 2) Commercial specialized The specialized airlines usually have lower fares, denser seating, more stops, and very few points of departure and landing. They typically have very liberal minimum and maximum stay requirements as well as advance purchase requirements, although the latter is not a great advantage in that they tend to sell out fairly early in the year. Some of them - notably People's Express have lower baggage allowances and insurance for lost baggage. You will also find it much more dificult to arrange your your transportation with People's Express as they do not participate in the major airline computer systems like Saber, Apollo, and PARS and their phone lines are either busy or very busy. As a result most travel agents tend to shy away from People's Express, but not from World or Capital. 3) Charters charters tend to have eaven lower fares. They are categorized by rigid schedules, high-capacity seating, and very heavy penalties for backing out at the last minute. Interestingly, charters when properly purchased may be the safest purchase financially. this is because several years ago many charter companies ripped off the public by taking their money and going out of business. So the CAB made it a requirement that all money given to charter company be put into a bank escrow account and only given to the company when it fulfills its obligation to the traveler. If you buy a charter you should make sure that your check is made out to the escrow account not the charter company if you are buying direct, or that your travel agent does it if you are purchasing through a travel agent. 4) Bulk air Finally we have a new boy on the block called bulk air as a result of deregulation. This consists of certain airlines (World and Capital mostly to Europe and everybody to the Far East) selling blocks of tickets to entrepenours who in turn sell them either directly to the public or to travel agents. The airline makes out because it gets its money early and in some cases with no possibility of refund, the broker pockets the difference, and the public travels cheap. What's the catch? Well like the special airlines and charters they are very inflexible, but more important these tickets are truly caveat preemptor. There is little control on the entrepenours in this business and insurance companies will not write insurance to protect against problems as in the other three cases. The airlines have no responsibility for if you want that you should have paid their full price. If the broker goes under or runs to Brazil with your money thats tough. So, do not deal with these people if you are faint of heart. If you have a travel agent that you trust perhaps they might help you separate the wheat from the chaff. To sum it up you tend to get what you pay for. Travelling these days is a lot like doing your income tax. If you are single, with no investments, no dependents, and no deductions you can file the simple short form. But if you own 3 houses, play the stock market, have 4 ex-wives, and are involved with sheep raising in Tebet, you might be better off to invest in a tax accountant. Even a simple flight from New York to Boston is complex these days. so I would suggest you find a knowlegable travel agent to advise you just as you would an accountant, lawyer, or doctor. Bob Shapiro