Breaking News… New budget airline based at Luton.

A new UK budget airline, called Now, is to start flying to seven destinations from this summer.

Based at Luton airport in Bedfordshire, Now will fly to Manchester, Hamburg, Jersey, Rome, Lisbon, Ibiza and Tenerife.

Using two Boeing 737 300s, Now will add a third aircraft after three months which will enable it to fly to two more destinations – Valencia and Dusseldorf.

The airline hopes to offer around 650,000 seats in its first year of operation and its inaugural flight will be to Rome.

Now says it will offer fixed fares according to destination and season, so that all travellers will pay the same amount for their seats on that flight. All charges except for the £5 Government airport departure tax will be included in the price.

This is in contrast to the pricing policy of some low-fare airlines which sometimes sell the first few seats at a low rate but others at substantially higher prices.

“We believe this pricing model will become the industry standard,” said Lars Welinder, the interim chief executive of Now.

He went on: “We’re focusing predominantly on high-density destinations with year-round opportunity. Our customers will range from regular travellers, such as expatriates and people with holiday homes, to business people, people looking for city centre breaks, or young people travelling to destinations like Ibiza.”

Mr Welinder said that Now is in discussions “regarding a number of strategic acquisitions in order to form a substantial and comprehensive group in the travel industry”.

From Annova
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A new UK budget airline launched on Tuesday will start flying to seven European destinations this summer.
Now, which will be based at Luton Airport in Bedfordshire, will fly to Manchester, Hamburg, Jersey, Rome, Lisbon, Ibiza and Tenerife.

The airline hopes to offer around 650,000 seats in its first year.

Now said it would offer fixed fares according to destination and season.

For example, the cost of a ticket on Now to Rome between March and May will be £55 plus £5 departure tax.

The new airline will face stiff competition from established operators EasyJet and Ryanair.
The leading budget carriers have a firm grip on the lion’s share of the market – together they carry more than 30m passengers a year.

EasyJet currently accounts for seven out of 10 flights through the airport.

The launch comes as a new survey shows budget airlines are outscoring charter carriers and scheduled service operators when it comes to satisfying passengers.

Luton Airport managing director Paul Kehoe said: “We at Luton are proud to have been at the forefront of the budget flying revolution for the last decade.

Headquarters at Luton

“Now again Luton is taking the UK lead by becoming a partner in the launch of a new concept in flying – second generation low cost.”

Now has been given a £300,000 regional selective assistance grant from the East of England Development Agency to help with start-up costs and establish its headquarters at Luton.

The low-cost airline will using two Boeing 737 300s.

A third aircraft, which Now plans to add after three months, will enable it to fly to two more destinations – Valencia and Dusseldorf.

From BBC