Travel is My Life; Work and Pleasure

You just checked into a luxuries hotel & spa, paying $620 a night, what does it entitle you?

Is it simply an overnight stay; check in & check out the next day?

Like in most hotels, and furthermore at the luxuries hotels, there are toiletries at your disposal in the bathroom, the question is; where is the borderline between reasonable use and theft?

Looking at it from the philosophical point of view; “Responsible Tourism”; is it responsible to take what we do not really need and cause unnecessary extra costs?

I just read a post on HotelChatter which I did not find amusing, and decided to share it with you:

“I just was doing some cleaning, and just piled all my soaps/etc.. from this year (yes 2007), and thought i’d take a picture, because I thought it was funny.. I usually take the shampoos and goodies so I don’t have to stock up on travel stuff throughout the year, but I didn’t realize I had this much from this year”

I also read on Sleeping Around a post about what is ethical to take and what is theft, personally I disagree, in my humble opinion it seems too liberal.

“Most hotels expect that you will take the soap. They plan on it. But there are other things that they expect you to take too, so except for the shower curtain, think about things that start with the letter “S.”

Soap, Shampoo, Shower gel, Shower cap, Sewing kit, Stationery, Shoe Shine Kits, Slippers. SLIPPERS??? Yes, slippers. Many really upscale hotels put terry-cloth slippers in your room, often with elaborate embroidery with the hotel’s name or crest across the instep. It’s branding. Every time you look down, you see the name or initials of the hotel; the hope is that it gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling, makes you remember your wonderful time there, and makes you plan on returning. “I wish more people would take the slippers,” says David Benton, Vice President and General Manager of the tony Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia, a member of the Preferred Hotels group. “We hate having to throw them away. We can’t use them again; we WANT our guests to take them.

” WHEN IS IT “THEFT?”  So now we know what you CAN take without fear of arrest and incarceration. What is it that you can’t legitimately spirit away from the hotel? What is considered “theft?” Almost anything else.
No bathrobes, towels, sheets, pillows, pillowcases, bedspreads, ashtrays, glasses. No washcloths, drapes, desklamps, shower curtains, phone books, headboards or artwork. No throw pillows, bath rugs, room-service dishes, mattress pads or light fixtures. Not the glossy hardcover destination books that sit on the desk, although the weekly magazines are fine”.

Next time you travel, take a moment; ask yourself the question, do I support eco-tourism when I travel? Am I responsible to the environment?

Ask yourself; “What can I do to make the world a better place”.

Personally, I try not to waste, I use only what I need.

A few months have passed since SouthWest Airlines have taken the big step and changed its homepage GUI (Graphical User Interface), shifting the booking engine from the left side position which is the conventional worldwide standard, to the right side panel - the first and only airline to do so.

The New look:
The Old Look:
I wonder what made SouthWest Airlines lead to such action to move the booking panel, which is the “Action Item” to the right which is known to be the users visibility dark side; also known as the Z shape Eye Tracking Methodology. Moreover, I am very curious to see actual website usability results, and I will be looking forward to see other airlines, especially Low Cost Airlines, following this step, if the results are positive.

The only other airline which I found to have moved the action item; booking engine, from the left side panel is the Indian Low Cost Airline SpiceJet;

Had I had to analyze the results only according to blog reports, I would say the change has done only good to SouthWest Airlines, though; blog comments can be adjusted and thus biased if needed. I have read the comments on the SouthWest Airlines blog, where consumers love the new look, and find it much easier to navigate.

It could just be that SouthWest Airlines have decided to dedicate the hot spot to strengthen their brand name and logo.

Other Airlines website to compare look & feel; left side booking panel.

I am sad to announce, yet again, of another airline which has closed down.

Eos, a 48 seats all business class airline, flew from London to New York, is the second all business class airline to close down operations in less than 4 months.
What have they being doing wrong? What should SilverJet do in order not to drop down like its ex-competitors?

Unfortunately, quality does not win it all.

Lately, travel agents have been receiving more and more fraud emails requesting business class and first class tickets on specific routes; starting in; Nigeria - Lagos.

The process is as follows; the so called Nigerian Travel Agent requests assistance to book his VIP clients flights and hotels. Once the travel agency (outside Nigeria) books it all, he is given a stolen credit card which is not yet reported to the authorities.

Thus, the agent who is being conned is not yet aware of the fact that has just lost a few thousands of Dollars.

The Nigerians who have given a fake UK address including a non existing UK mobile number, a free web based email are long gone.

The Nigerians, in order to conceal their tracks, and perfect their crime, they manage to change names on the air tickets through contacts they have at the local airline branch. They then resell the ticket to anyone who is willing to pay them in cash.

Not until that long ago, travel agents had a way to protect themselves from such actions; they used the given credit card as a means to pay the airline directly. Rather than what is accustomed; client pay agent, agent pays airline. Now days, due to fraud levels, the airlines hold the agents accountable for any fraud done by the travelers.

Beware - work with who you know and trust.

This year the ski season has been one of the best ever, my friends are currently in Europe skiing saying it’s the best weather they have had for years. Though they seem to have one problem; most restaurants are closed. The Europeans who did not expect such a long ski season have fixed a date to close their resorts and chalets; working season is over for them.

I feel as though it’s in the Europeans nature to know when to stop working. Unlike the Americans and many Israelis I know who are willing to work 24/7 to make their financial dream come true, the Europeans live in order to live, which is a great attitude as they seem to have a life besides work.

Val Thorens is still open for those who want to catch the last drop of ski.

I have received many responses on my previous blog post, therefore, I have decided to put some time and collecting info on the airlines lounges and their websites.

I am sure the list is incomplete, therefore, if you care and have more info and details please send me an email and I will be happy to update the data.

Sites that I found useful:

1) http://www.flyerguide.net/

2) http://www.loungeguide.net/wiki/u/Main_Page

3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airport_lounge#Access_to_lounges

Post 9/11 security rules have tightened and toughened and we are requested to get earlier to the airport. We are requested to take longer connections flights, physical security checks take longer, emigration queues are extremely long and include photographic procedures, finger prints, eye recognition, which means we arrive earlier to the airport not to take the risk of losing the flight.

We find ourselves wandering around the airports; some search for WIFI connection to work or Twitter, or a café to relax for a few minutes.

Most of us fly coach / economy class thus, are not entitled to business class lounge, which would have eased the pain of waiting.

Airports charge outrageous prices for a cup of coffee, moreover, have you tried the WIFI in Paris Charles De Gaul? You need a mortgage after 2 hours J

I have calculated that using one of the 2 options to enter lounges cover the costs of the coffee and the Internet. Moreover, I get to the airport on time relaxed as I know I have where to pass the time reading, eating, working and sometimes even snoozing for good half hour.

Priority Pass covers over 500 worldwide lounges, with various payment plans which can fit individuals who travel a few times a year or those who travel frequently.

Basic plan: Annual fee $99 + each entry is $27 + guest $27

Basic + plan: Annual $249 + 10 free entries then $27 each + guest $27 each entry

Prestige plan; Annual $399 all entries are free + guest $27 per entry.

Although $399 seems a lot of money, its great value for those who travel short distances more than 8 times a year, for example; in Europe, internal USA, or internal Asia.

Each trip is minimum a round trip, which means two entries $27 x2, after 7 round trips, not alone multi leg trips you cover the expense.

I have mentioned short trips because on long haul travelers receive more miles, and once they fly transatlantic for more than 5 times the status of their airline club membership will grant them free lounge anyways.

The UK based company Lounge Pass has a single purchase plan for 128 lounges around the world, though mostly based in the UK and only 20-25 worldwide international airports. Prices are according to airports, with UK small airports at around 10 GBP (~$25 USD).

Their international airports such as Heathrow, Los Angeles, Singapore, San Francisco, Zurich, Washington, New York, Toronto, Honk Kong, Barcelona, Berlin, Amsterdam, are at average of 20 GBP (~$40).

Credit card companies offer their prestige card holders with lounge access. Some lounges will deduct points per entry; some will honor it for no extra fee.

Who doesn’t want to get points for his travel? We all do, and the more the merrier.

Most of us don’t even know the rules and regulations of the various clubs. We are not aware of the differences between the clubs, their partners, nonetheless, the differences within each group there are airlines rules which can favor one to another. For example; from London to New York you can fly American Airlines and British Airways, while both airlines partner in the same club; One World. You may not receive points if you have a BA club number and fly an American Airline flight on the same route British Airways operates too - internal competition on same routes.

The rule of thumb is quite simple; avoid duplicate memberships for the same partners; focus and channel all partner points into a single club membership. And remember, although most memberships are free you cannot mesh and combine points from a vertical club into a single free ticket.

Therefore, focusing on a group and centralizing most of your travel into a specific group where you will benefit with free travel, lounge access, preferred seating, and upgrade vouchers.

The 3 leading groups in the world will cover you worldwide and will take you anywhere.

One World; Airlines, British Airways, American Airlines, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, JAL, Iberia, Malev, LAN, Royal Jordanian, Malev, Finnair.

Star Alliance; United Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS, Austrian Airlines, Thai Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Swiss, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana, BMI, LOT Polish Airways, Singapore Airlines, South Africn Airways, Spanair, Shanghai Airlines, TAP Portugal, US Airways.

SkyTeam; Continental Airlines, Air France, Alitalia, KLM, Delta Airlines, Korean Air, Aeroflot, Aeromexico, China Southers, Czech Airlines, Copa, Kenya Airways, Air Europe.

If you live in Israel or travel frequently to Tel Aviv you must have a membership with ELAL.

ELAL has an airline partner; American Airlines, which as you may see is listed in the One World group. Which means if you fly with American Airlines you can choose whether to earn the points with ELAL or with One World (one or the other, not bothL).

How do you decide? I would say it all depends on your travel mix.

Having been in the business for over 17 years I could tell you that ELAL is an airline that gives its club members the most.

Low Cost Airlines in general do not give perks. Though, in the past couple of years I have noticed that even they have some loyalty membership. Example; the famous SouthWest Airlines have its Rapid Rewards. Even EasyJet has its loyalty membership for a fee though.

As I briefly stated, loyalty clubs have their own rules regarding earning and redeeming points, taking into account your country of residence in relation to your “travel mix”, example; if you register to British Airways as a US location based flying from USA to Europe and back, you will get different miles per flight than as you were registered as a Londoner, flying the same flight. Being an Air France member living outside France gives you more than someone living in France. It’s simple; the airlines are trying to convince you to fly from point A to Z via their home country; example; travelers who fly from Tel Aviv via Paris to Tokyo are worth more to than those who flew Paris to Tokyo, since the airlines managed to steal a potential traveler from flying other airlines such as ELAL, Lufthansa or British Airways who are not in their alliance.

I could say that choosing the specific inside the group of alliance; i.e. Continental vs. Air France, should be a decision based on the major airline which you will fly with, but I suggest you look into the details, learn the benefits of each airline and if needed find a friend who lives elsewhere and willing to receive the airline’s junk mail :) you may receive double miles easily.

In the past 3 years I have studied and specialized in the LCC industry (Low Cost Carriers), not only that, I was the founder of a startup which we had to close a few months back, called Skylow.com - allowing users to book low cost airlines under a single interface.

Whenever I had to speak about low cost airlines and whenever I presented the sophisticated algorithm which was developed to find the low fares of 0 (yes, yes Zero) + airport taxes air fares I was stopped and asked; “But how come…, you have an algorithm mistake”

Watch the clip, it will answer your question of how the Low Cost Airlines, such as Ryanair, EasyJet, Virgin Blue and many other make their money…

Farecast, founded by Prof. Yair Ezioni, is a smart Travel Meta Search with a sophisticated algorithm which predicts according to previous years, dates, days, hours and competition the price fluctuation and variation which will help the user to determine whether to buy now or wait as price is predicted to fall.

Currently prediction market is focused US market, and limited Canadian cities.

Personally, I believe in the concept, but it’s still very early. For example, low cost airlines such as; Virgin America, Jet Blue and SouthWest airlines who have a great impact on internal US travel prices, if not the greatest impact after fuel prices, are not included in the equation.

Having said that, I am very happy to see the growth of the online travel, and the growth in the travel industry buyouts, such as:

Kayak and SideStep

TripAdvisor and Holiday Watch Dog

TripAdvisor and SeatGuru

TripAdvisor and Cruise Critic,

TravelGuru & Desiya

It seems to me that there are new trendy destinations this year.

Popularity of destinations changes, it could be any of the following reasons, the crash of the US Dollar, the political instability of Kenya, the terror attacks in Sinai, the safety alerts in Malaysia & Indonesia. Or simply, we are looking for new, more exciting, more relaxing and pampering destinations.

It seems like that Thailand is still a popular destination, the islands (in Thai: Koh) Samui, Phuket, PhiPhi, & Krabi are replaced by less common islands such as; Koh Lanta, Koh Tao, Koh Chang.

Pimalai is one of my most favorite places

Tanzania is growing rapidly, it has all one needs; the safari in the Serengeti National Park and Zanzibar with its amazing beaches.

My pick; Breezes

Maldives, heaven on earth, though, hotels are hard to get, nevertheless, and prices are not low. But I guess Maldives is a unique place to visit.

Words cannot describe; Soneva Gili

If you are planning your next amazing vacation, take a look at www.exclusive-honeymoon.com - if you want tips and advise call Shelley, she will find you the most suitable place for you:

The last thing you want to find out at the airport check in, (besides realizing that you forgot your passport at home…) is that you are seated in a middle seat on a 12 hours long haul “Red Eye” flight.

The cheaper airfares are the more people fly. The low cost airline revolution and the Open Sky competition led to airlines pushing in more seats into their “coach” / economy class cabins, furthermore, airlines turning their entire aircraft to a single class cabin. Especially that we see giant jumbo aircrafts such as the 600 passenger carrier the Airbus A380.

Firstly, let’s face it, someone has to fill in the middle seat, but if you travel on your own, for business do your out most that you are well seated. And l strongly advise you do it prior to arriving the check in desk at the airport.

When you get the itinerary, or the electronic ticket, all you see is seat number + a letter; example; 45B.

Once the number is known all you think about is:

Is this a window seat?
Aisle?
Please make it an exit row… Noooooooooo please don’t let it be a middle seat…
Where is the seat located?
Is it near the toilet?
The Galley?
The far back?
The kitchen?
Over the wing?
Near an infant seat?
Can I see the movie?
Worse; it’s a non reclining seat.

I personally like to check myself where I sit, after all, why turn a 4 hour flight to a nightmare that feels like a 12 hours. And for that I log into one of the 3 websites:

http://www.seatexpert.com/
www.seatguru.com
http://www.seatmaestro.com/

Now that I know where I am seated, I am left with 2 hopes:
1) My alternative seat request is still available.
2) The airline want make a last minute aircraft change (very common with airlines such as ELAL with relatively small number of aircrafts which can be replaced under certain circumstances).

Web-check in is available 24 hours before departure; another way to improve your seat selection.

In the past 10 years the travel industry has improved tremendously, having said that, lost luggage at airports is a matter which costs airlines and insurance companies a great deal and yet this issue to be tackled appropriately.

“Last year 30 million bags were lost, costing the airlines $2.5bn, based on 2 billion passengers. (SITA Baggage Report 2006)

A couple of weeks ago British Airways has opened Terminal 5 and had an operation fiasco, they have lost over 28,000 suitcases in less than 48 hours.

Having said that, the disaster is indeed at large scale, though, nearly 200,000 UK passengers a month have had their luggage lost or misplaced at airports over the last two years (reported by InsureandGo). Thus, it is only twice the normal level.

Allow me to enlighten you with the basics:

1) How does the tracking back office system operates (don’t expect too much L)

2) What is “Lost for Ever”

3) Travelers’ rights facing the airline (don’t expect too much L)

4) Legal action

Tracking:

When you find out at the airport that your luggage has not arrived, you file a complaint at the ground handling company. The member of staff uses your luggage tag (which was given to you at time of check in) in addition to your physical description of your suitcase. The information is manually logged into the system.”BagMessage” & “WorldTracer”enables airport baggage systems to exchange standard baggage messages with an unlimited number of airline Departure Control Systems (DCS). This global message distribution system channels thousands of airline messages per hour between multiple airline DCSs and airport baggage handling.

In simple words; a report of lost has to meet a report for found - otherwise no match.

Every 38th passenger losses his luggage; 20% of those turn to “Lost For Ever”, which means on average every 190th passenger will never see his luggage ever again.

Common sense says, if it was not stolen it should be somewhere, thus, track-able, and how difficult can that be?!

Indeed, though the airport regulations are to keep lost luggage for 3 months, during this period the systems try to match a lost & found.

During this period, the Customs together with the airlines’ Rep opens and checks the buggage to find relative info to correlate owner.

After 3 months the luggage is terminated in one of the 2 ways;

1) In some countries - un traceable bags with its content are shredded (crunched to zillion pieces L)

2) Contents are divided - some are sold in an auction and second hand cloths are given to the needy.

3) Yes there is a 3… as rumors say that in some countries the “Lost For Ever” is sold by weight, un-opened to the highest bidder (can you imagine when they open it afterwards: dirty underwear or a top of the range laptop…:)

Travelers’ rights:

In accordance to both; Warsaw Convention1929 & Hague Protocol 1955, travelers are entitled to compensation from the airline:

Lost luggage; first aid - first 24 hours expenses $50 / Premium classes $100. Most of the airline will also give a first aid toiletry bag to their premium class travelers.

After 24 hours; 50% of the value of the purchased goods with a Max of $200 and depending on the airline ticket price / class.

However, “Lost For Ever” luggage receives a ridiculous amount of: $USD 20-22 per KG with a Max of $USD 400, no matter what you had inside it.

Legal Actions:

I hear it all the time: “I will take them to court”.

Don’t bother, it doesn’t help, the court cannot exceed the law of maximum $400.

What’s the alternative? Travel Insurance coverage!

Personally, I think that protocols written in 1929 and 1955 must be amended, and the sooner the better.

The main reasons for lost luggage are:

1) Aircraft limitations (weight, storage space, fuel capacity etc)

2) Technical dispatch (airport process, from check in through security to aircraft and back to conveyer)

3) Short connections

4) Security.

Advise:

1) Travel light

2) Issue travel insurance - it’s worth it

3) Take longer connections between flights

4) Don’t check in your luggage “all the way” - see it between flights, make sure it arrived the mid-destination and check it in again.

5) Pack a day pack with your essentials for the first destination.

I am known to be a fanatic traveler, with years of experience. From being a backpacker visiting 3rd world countries, to spending quality time in upscale exotic resorts. However, traveling with kids is a whole different ball game.

It is very important as parents not to plan the trip from an egoistic point of view; i.e. what I would like to do, what I would like to see, where I would like to go. Look at the trip from the kids’ point of view, try and focus on the objective of the trip; the getting there phase is more important than the being there phase. Involve your kids in the planning phase, no matter what age they are, that’s why it’s called; “A Journey”, only then you will all benefit the most out of it.

The variables to decide and plan depends on the age of the kids, where you live, the destination visited, the style of travel, standard, the budget, nonetheless, health matters. Packing is always an issue; specially today with airport new liquid regulations, what to bring, how to pack, medication, and so on and so forth.

In the past couple of years I’ve spent hours and hours on the Internet to find a one stop shop when planning a trip with my Kids - with not much luck. “Content is the King”, the internet today is based on UGC (User generated Content), how come no one has taken the opportunity to lead in such a large community - parents traveling with their children.

I will try to list a few sites I found useful, the first one I like mainly for its name:

“Travel For Kids: http://www.travelforkids.com/

Each destination caters differently to kids, for example; while travelling in the USA family accommodation is an easy matter, most rooms are large enough to accommodate at least 2 adults + 2 kids. Whereas, in Europe the rooms are very small, therefore, 2 double beds in a room, nevertheless a baby cote is not an easy task to find. Kids activities in New Zealand cannot be compared to kids activities in Germany.

Having given the example of Travel For Kids, I would recommend them to be based on UGC (User Generated Content - by parents) - it will enrich the site content and will increase cities, attractions, and activities. Taking an example from;

I personally check; Travel With Your Kids http://www.travelwithyourkids.com/ they claim to be written by parents, for parents. True, but limited destinations, I hope they grow as they have the potential.

Away.com (www.away.com) has a nice section about family travel, though its advertising orientated rather than massive info which can be channeled great as they have substantial travel data.

If you read Hebrew, one of the best sites to find information is Lametayel.com - they should translate it to English www.lametayel.com - www.lametayelkids.co.il

Interesting relevant sites to help you plan your family trip:

http://www.kidscantravel.com/

http://www.nineblue.com/

http://www.famtrav.com/

http://www.familytravelboards.com/

http://www.familytravelguides.com/

http://familyfun.go.com/family-travel/

http://family.go.com/travel/

http://www.familytravel.com/

http://holidayswithkids.com.au

http://www.babygoes2.com

http://www.travelandleisure.com/family/

http://www.byokids.com.au/

http://www.family-travel.co.uk/

http://www.flyingwithkids.com/

http://www.hotelfun4kids.com

http://travelingusa.com/Kids%20Travel/

http://www.travellingwithchildren.co.uk/

http://www.kidseurope.com/

ELAL Israel Airlines have decided to change its “goodies” policy - the use of frequent flyer points for upgrade to premium classes Business & First.

Just last week, ELAL has switched a GDS - Global Distribution System, or what is also known as a CRS - Computer Reservation System - system used to store, retrieve information and conduct transactions related to air travel.

The previous system, Carmel was owned by ELAL and the features were tailor made specifically for its needs. Now that they have shifted to Amadeus they have taken the opportunity to deteriorate the benefits of their club members use of points. A non-official quote by a highly ranked employee commented; “It was easy to hide behind the mask of; it’s a new booking system with no technical abilities to perform upgrades like we used to, moreover, we are only aligning our policies to other leading airlines such as: Continental Airlines, Lufthansa, United Airlines & Air Canada.”

ELAL Frequent traveler will be affected, travel agents will have to work harder, but at the end of the day; “users will get used to it, and we will make more money on each ticket sold…”

Example; an upgradable round trip ticket from Tel Aviv to New York costs:

Ticket (S class) $2544 + Add 700 points each direction (1point = $1) = 3944

Whereas, on the same class of booking (D class) the cheapest business class round trip costs: $4900. (For those who don’t know; S class is coach, D is business class)

That’s a $1000 profit per ticket - so why not?

Sadly the first low cost airlines to link Europe and Asia (Oasis Hong Kong), has decided to fold its wings and close down operation.

Oasis Airlines Hong Kong established Oct 2006 and flew daily from Hong Kong to London and Hong Kong to Vancouver. Their prices ranged from as low as 75 USD each direction to / from UK.

The CEO, Stephen Miller, “It is with great regret that Oasis Hong Kong Airlines has today voluntarily applied to the Hong Kong courts to appoint a liquidator.”

The national carrier; Cathay Pacific has stepped in to help, taking into consideration the holiday period and the large number of families with children who have lost their way home…

As nicely said by Cathay Pacific Airlines CEO; Tony Tyler: “We sympathize with the many passengers in Hong Kong, London and Vancouver who have been stranded by the Oasis’ decision, and we will do our very best to help them through this difficult and stressful period,”

I wish them all luck, and their thousands of passengers an easy and safe flight home.

AirAsia has been recognized as one of the World’s most innovative companies by “Fast Company Magazine“.

Air Asia being the first and only making it the only South East Asian brand, moreover, the only airline to have made it on the “Fast 50″ list. The list consists branded companies such as; Nike, Google, Disney, Facebook, IBM, GE & BMW.

A few months back I have attended a seminar where Tony Fernandes has spoken about the innovation and out of the box thinking philosophy of his company. Mr Fernandes has highlighted the importance of such philosophy which leads their strategy. This has brought the young company to a steady expansion, growth and profitability, which is driven by customer loyalty and retention.

Lookout for Mr. Fernandes new venture; Air Asia has introduced AirAsiaX (FAX) the Asian Low Cost Long Haul Carrier. Their young appointed CEO Mr. Azran Osman has announced that by late 2008 FAX will fly from Asia to Europe for as low as 17 GBP a direction - I am looking forward to that.

It has been a tough week for the US & Hawaiian Low Cost Airlines Industry. 2 major airlines; ATA who has been 35 years in the air, and Aloha Airlines 62 years flying; have stopped their services.

While the American Continent has not seen much growth and prosperity in the Low Cost Airline business, Europe & Asia are still growing.Fast growth is also seen in Middle East; with Etiad (Abu Dhabi) advising on opening their new LCC (low Cost Carrier) and Brazil, with GOL Airlines leading the local industry, will enjoy new competition from Jet Blue founder, David Neeleman, who is planning to start flying

Having studied the market thoroughly and been involved in the Low Cost Airlines first booking engine (www.skylow.com) I believe that an airline needs to be born as a low cost airline, rather than transform its self to one. It is in its DNA, it’s all about the culture, the way its run, operate and perceived. Therefore, we will be seeing more low cost airlines emerging, and more conventional airlines and charter companies who try to “convert” to a low cost closing down under chapter 11.