What with traffic snarls, high prices for leasing a cab with a medallion, gas costs, fare beaters and credit card fees, it's tough to make ends meet.
In most cases, however, booking a low-cost fare still means bracing for a barrage of add-on fees.
They could prevent "backpackers," as airlines derisively call bargain hunters, from finding as many low-cost fares.
Paul, Orlando and New York, with full service at low-cost fares (along with seven other cities in summer only).
Given $18 million to $19 million in operating and maintenance costs, fares will cover about 7percentt of costs and require a subsidy of just over $8 per trip.
AirAsia has also managed to tap into a new customer base: Many of its passengers are first-time fliers who would never have flown, but for AirAsia's low-cost fares, Mr. Fernandes said.
British research shows a marked rise in business travel by lower-income passengers, as small, regional firms take advantage of low-cost fares to foray abroad in search of contracts, or skilled workers from the east commute to Britain and other countries for a few weeks at a time.
The result is iXiGO.com, a travel search service that can run on the cheapest cellphones and helps Indians book the lowest-cost fares, whether it is a farmer who wants to go by bus or train for a few rupees from Chennai to Bangalore or a millionaire who wants to go by plane to Paris.
These low-cost fares are often the only option for travelers on a budget, but they have a number of restrictions that can vary by airline.
But the below-cost fares contribute to an annual loss of around $4.5bn £2.7bnn), while the high freight rates mean moving goods by road has become a more viable option.
Meanwhile, the app will continue to focus on helping users find low-cost fares — not only by tracking deals, but also by bundling low-cost carriers and traditional airlines.
