Melbourne Grand Prix finished last Sunday. The team of Virgin Company, being the parent company of Virgin Blue, however, couldn't even make to the end. It was said because the fuel tank of the car was designed too small as the engineers miscalculated the fuel needed.
Apart from the misfortune case in Grand Prix, Virgin Blue has been awarded as best low-cost airlines by a number of different organisations. It is Australia's second largest airline. Unlike most low-cost airlines, Virgin Blue has an award-winning frequent flyer program, Velocity Rewards. It was the first in Australia providing 'any seat, any time' reward redemption. Its International subsidiary, V Australia, has been successfully operated since 2009 when the first flight between Sydney and LA took off.
Jetstar, Tiger airways are the other two domestic/international low-cost airlines in Australia. They have reduced the domestic air fares dramatically and stimulated domestic travel. They reasonably punctual and reliable.
However, not all cow-lost are that easy to be trusted. One of the biggest low-lost airlines in the world, Air Asia, announced the suspension of flight between Kuala Lumper and Tianjin last year. The route has been suspended for about three months due to 'weather conditions'. Customers who had booked tickets were given fully refund however no further subsidies were placed. As the decision was announced only a month before the suspension date, it was more costly to re-book another ticket from other airlines. Customers were complaining this decision on its official website as well as other forums. Similarly, some flights between Chengdu and KL were cancelled, with a full refund into passengers' accounts.
Sometimes, things can even go worse. At least passengers can get a full refund from AirAsia and they were given advanced notification. Viva Macau Airline, which is an ambious new-born Macau-based internation low-cost airlines which offers cheap route from Macau to Melbourne, Tokyo, Jakarta, Hanoi and several other cities, got its business license of air carrier revoked by Macau authority. The airline was not able to pay its fuel bills, which lead to hundreds of passengers stranded at the airport. There were total 33 flights been cancelled before its license been revoked. Refund plans are announced and some 1,300 cases were received.
Oasis Airlines, an ex-Hong Kong based low-cost airline, ceased its operation in 2008 after it went to bankrupt. Several other cases can be found in China, where civil aviation is highly regulated and competition is heated.
Despite all these risks, cheap airlines are surely providing more opportunities for passengers having lower budget to travel. What we need is a better regulated market which can prevent this hassle from happening.
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