2.2. Annotation sample

(Text 1)

The headline of the article is Air Travel – the Budget Way. The date and place of publication have not been specified.

The article offers a brief survey of today’s world budget airline industry, with a particular focus on South-East Asia and Europe.

The author of the article, Jane Winsley, starts by reporting on the successes of three major Indian no-frills airlines, which threaten to put an end to the railway’s dominance of long-distance travel in the country. Further, budget air travel advances in South-East Asia are highlighted and the most successful Asian budget carriers are listed. Finally, the author dwells on some successes of a number of European no-frills airlines such as Ryanair, Easyjet etc.

This highly informative article studded with facts and examples is an excellent presentation of the state of play in the global budget airline industry and can be of great use to businesspeople, policy makers, professionals and all those interested in current affairs in the world.

2.3. Articles for annotating

Тext 1

Air Travel – the Budget Way

by Jane Winsley

The railway’s dominance of long-distance travel within India may soon be over.  No-frills airline Spicejet is luring train passengers with ultra-low fares reminiscent of Ryanair’s aggressive marketing.  The New Delhi-based company, which only started business in May 2005, is already expanding its fleet with a new order of Boeing 737s.  The airline aims to compete with first class rail travel, and sold more than 37,000 tickets online on the first day of business.

Kingfisher airlines, owned by India’s beer baron Vijay Mallya, promises models working as flight attendants.  Launched just weeks before Spicejet, Kingfisher is aiming slightly more upmarket, with inflight entertainment on every seat, and fine cuisine.

India’s pioneering budget carrier, Air Deccan, is going from strength to strength.  Set up in 2003, it undercut existing fares by 50% and kick-started the growth of India’s domestic market.

No-frills air travel arrives in South-East Asia. A region where up until now national carriers have had virtual monopolies is opening up to the budget flight era.  New airlines are using European style Internet booking systems to offer tickets at prices unheard of before. Because the Internet is not yet available throughout the region, tickets can also be bought through travel agents but under the same system – the earlier you book, the cheaper the ticket.

Air Asia is perhaps the most successful of the new airlines.  Set up in 2001, the Kuala Lumpur-based business offers flights within Malaysia and to destinations in Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia and Philippines.  

Budget air travel is having a big impact in Cambodia.  Without a main national carrier, Cambodia has an ‘open skies’ policy and is encouraging new airlines to boost tourism in the country.  One company that has capitalised on this is Jet Star Asia, which has routes to the capital Phnom Penh and the tourist centre Siem Reap.

Soaring fuel costs have not prevented Dublin-based airline Ryanair from continuing with its ambitious plans for expansion, including establishing a major hub in Frankfurt, Germany.  The other main player EasyJet, based in Luton, near London, is constantly adding new routes and registering record numbers of passengers.  The collapse of EUjet in 2005 had many business analysts forecasting a downturn in the fortunes of budget airlines.  But the doomed Kent-based carrier, which left over 5000 passengers stranded abroad when it went out of business, has not proved typical of the no-frills market.

Recent start-ups such as Barcelona-based Vueling are giving Spanish airline Iberia a major headache by slashing fares on routes within Europe.  Iberia may soon be forced to concentrate on its South American routes and leave Europe to the budget carriers. Meanwhile the admission of new member states into the European Union has led to a boom in Central and Eastern European-based airlines.  Sky Europe is one of the biggest.  With bases in Budapest, Krakow, Warsaw, Prague and Bratislava, the company has expanded rapidly since starting up in 2002, and operates on 65 routes throughout Europe.

Тext 2