Frill-less Flying Brings Flying to the Masses

        New York - In the 1950's flying was a privilege enjoyed by only the wealthiest.  The costs associated with flying were too high for most ordinary people.  In 1952 a London-to-Scotland return flight would set the average Englishman back a week's wages.  A trip to New York might require saving up for five months.  No-frills flying helped bring flying to the common public market.
     Borrowing parts of the no-frills formula, such as striping out non-essential services and introducing yield-management systems to price tickets, airlines have slashed ticket prices on flights that offer this type of flying.  Southwest Airlines, the world's first successful no-frills carrier, pioneered ways of reducing operating costs.  These ways now used all over the world.  To reduce costs Southwest filled its planes with more seats and made sure each flight was packed with passengers.  No-frills airlines also cut costs by using only one type of aeroplane,  the Boeing 737.  British-based EasyJet, Ryan Air, and other airlines, such as Southwest Airlines, that offer no-frills flying, virtually eliminated the business-class flying section.  They then introduced fees for non-essential services, like carrying luggage in the cargo hold of the plane, this further reduced the workload on the plane, when passengers began increasing their use  of the overhead bin.  Airlines invented a unique sales strategy.  Airlines developed and built their own airline ticket reservation system which eliminated the need for so many travel agents.  This so-called direct booking system made fares further obtainable to the traveling public and cut out the fees charged by travel agents.  To help target prices better airlines began using yield-management systems (YMSs). YMSs increase ticket prices when demand is high and reduce them during quieter traveling periods.  This increased the airlines' ticketing reservations system's efficiency.  When airlines have more ticket revenue coming in during high volume periods, they can keep up with their increased operating costs during those high traffic times.  See also, www.forbes.com.