The Sydney Morning Herald, 6 Jun 2011To use the satirical vernacular, Singapore Airlines unlocked a Pandora’s floodgate of worms when it announced plans last month to launch a new low-cost subsidiary to fight for the turf occupied by Jetstar and AirAsia X on long-haul international routes.
For years, the airline industry collectively believed that long-haul flying was best suited to full-service airlines because people demand comfort if they’re going to be sitting in the same seat for 8-14 hours. Low-cost flying works only if the passenger foregoes enough of the frills to get the cost of providing the seat low enough so the fare can be at least a third cheaper than the full-service product. Full story
