subject: Difference Between A Lcc And A Value-based Lcc [print this page] You must have often heard that a particular airline is an LCC, or the low cost carrier. This term is used in a general way for all the budget airlines which adhere to some of the fundamental principles of low-cost air travel. These principles are built around the typical business model of their operations. Since providing cheap air tickets is the primary aim, the approach towards operations is very simple and without any frills. However, within the LCC model of operation, there are some variants with respect to the services provided by them.
While some LCCs aim to provide the cheap air tickets by charging for everything else such as the meals or for every kilogram of baggage, some other LCCs do have allowance for these things which are required by the passengers. The latter types of LCCs are called value-based LCC since these might allow you to carry baggage up to a certain weight, number and dimensions limit. Further, these might also provide you with certain facilities which you need for travelling.
It is important to note that whether an LCC is a value-based or a non-value based will depend on a number of factors, primary being the aspirations of the people. What the passengers might want from the airline is the prime consideration to determine the operational model suited to it. Some airlines such as Air Asia provide the cheapest tickets since they charge for every other thing and do not provide any free item in-flight. This is so because the people would prefer travelling by doing low cost air ticket booking rather than taking services for which they would be charged more. However, it is a typical model of operation and is usually not the one which most of the other airlines of the world have adopted. While the airlines do strive to provide cheap air tickets to the customers, they would allow for certain free services and amenities to enjoy. To what extent can these free allowances can be provided will depend on what the market would prefer to have and is limited by the restrictions imposed by the LCC business model.
Naturally, the prices of the air tickets of value-based LCC would be higher than the non-value based LCC due to the free allowances. But the customers would be willing to pay for the services which are considered to be necessary for air travel. It has been seen that the distinction between the value based LCC and the full service carrier gets narrower as more and more allowances are permitted by the LCC. This typically happens when the LCC, in order to seek the expansion of business, decides to operate medium distance flights of longer time duration for which it needs to provide passengers with more amenities.
