HYBRID SERVICE CARRIERS

When I last few with Indigo, after my family trip to Goa, to Bengaluru, I was shocked to see that the buy on board items cost a lot and had to contend with just water which was given on request. Even though it was an hour flight, I was thinking on what the feeling could be to fly like this for a longer duration.  It was while I was pondering over this question that I came across a video of Josh Cahill (@gotravelyourway) where he reviewed Air Premia which happened to be the world’s first hybrid Service carrier. This has intrigued me a lot and so I felt that I want to tell you about it.

So, what do I mean by it?

 It refers to an airline that combines elements of both low-cost and full-service carriers, offering a mix of low fares and additional services and amenities for passengers.

What’s so special in a hybrid airline?

• ·        Here you can have a comfortable flight at an affordable price (including food, entertainment etc.).
• ·        A better travel experience than low-cost carriers but o as high as a full-service carrier.
• ·        Here, your fare covers the basic amenities, and you have to pay extra if you need something more such as wi-fi, soft-drinks etc.
• ·        Here you can have more seamless connections which again is an integral part of your travel.
• ·        Technically speaking, all airlines are now working on a hybrid model so, that even full- service carriers offer hybrid services mainly in economy class 

Oh. If you ask whether there are any successful examples, yes there are quite a few examples, the main one is Jet Blue- an airline which is based in New York’s JFK airport is the best example of a hybrid carrier. Started as a Budget carrier, it transitioned into a hybrid carrier where you could even get lie-flat sets at a lower rate than a normal business class ticket in trans-Atlantic routes.

If you want an Asian example, there is Fly Dubai, which like JetBlue started as an LCC, but transitioned to a hybrid carrier is a prominent Asian example. Not to forget about Air Premia, the world’s first hybrid airline is from South Korea, an Asian country.

If we look at the Indian market, we have to know that there is no airline which can be called Hybrid, but Vistara (A Tata Sons-SIA JV) offers hybrid services in its domestic routes in economy class. Also, there is a fact that Jet Airways is planning to re-launch itself as a hybrid service carrier (here economy is sold as low-cost).

So, what are the pros and cons?

If we move on to pros, these are the following:

• ·        Better services at lower cost which adds value to the service provided.
• ·        Value for money.
• ·        Lower turnaround times for better connectivity.
• ·        Flexibility in service where you only need to pay for what you need.

But we have to remember that each and everything can have a set of cons which include:

• ·        Lack of a clear definition of the product where the airline is not defining their product clearly.
• ·        Just like the first demerit, here the service also varies in route wise too. In flydubai, you won’t get meal for fights less than 3 hours.
• ·        Here, you will have to pay for services at certain routes and the passenger has to be aware before making any payments.

T    The future opportunities of hybrid carriers:

      If I would like to say about the future, I am sure that there is going to be a huge competition worldwide by the full services or so-called Legacy carriers. As a result, we could see that it can lead to reduction in prices as air travel demand is increasing on a global basis. Hence, in spite of the competition, hybrid carriers should make a mark in the industry.

      Now, coming to India, we know that the Aviation market is rapidly expanding where Air India and Indigo has made extremely huge orders with Airbus and Boeing. A sector purely dominated by Low-cost carriers, a hybrid service carrier can have a huge potential and many airlines have started to take a hybrid approach.

Hybrid carriers are not just said to be the future of Aviation, but is the future.