22 Low-cost

Low-cost airline - is an airline that offers very low fares in exchange for eliminating most of traditional passenger services. In the good old days It was easy. Most countries had a national airline: KLM was the Dutch one. LOT the Polish national airline, and so on. Most of these airlines offered similar products at more or less the same prices. The air ticket itself was, and still is, a complex business. The basic return ticket was the commonest: the traditional ticket came in different classes to suit different pockets and first class. The whole system was turned upside down, however, by the arrival of the low-cost carriers. The low-cost strategy is based on limited turnaround times at airports - usually twenty to 2S minutes. This means that the airlines can get more flights out of a day - eight as opposed to the normal six.

24 Working in airport

When people think about working in the air travel industry they usually think of flight attendants and pilots - the cabin crew and the flight crew. But there are many other job opportunities at airports. The work of the airline ground crew includes selling tickets, checking in passengers, dealing with enquiries, and supervising passengers until they board the plane and are handed over to the cabin crew. As with travel consultants and cabin crew, ground crew are usually employed on permanent contracts but often work shifts. Free and discounted flights are usually offered after a probationary period. Some jobs at the airport do not involve contact with the public. Examples ofthese are baggage handlers, mechanics, and drivers.