What Air Transportation Is all about
Travelling by air involves the use of jets, airplanes, helicopters and other related vehicles for flight from one location to another.With more airlines springing up and technological advancement taking place in the industry, more people are starting to prefer air transportation. It is considered as the fastest means of transportation of people and goods from one place to another.
Air transportation is generally classified into international and domestic flights. International flights take place from one country to another, while domestic flights occur within a country. Vacationers can make use of the two in public or private transportation. Air passengers go through the following procedures:
- Check-in
- Border control
- Airport security
- Baggage and passenger check
- Boarding
- Flying
- Pick-up of luggage
- Border control in the host country (for international flights)
Travel Class Model Services
Travel class model services in air transportation involves separating the passengers into different cabins in the airplane, based on the quality of service that they paid for. The division can be into two, three or four passenger classes, depending on the airline/carrier. International flights can have two or more classes which are economy, premium economy, business and first class.
The class model could be restricted to seating arrangements, instead of cabins. First class cabins are designed to be more comfortable with luxury features in place than the other classes. Of course, they are more expensive.Read more about that here.
Economy Class
Economy class, which is also referred to as standard class, is the lowest in the class model. Depending on the carrier, economy class may feature the following:
- Reclining seat
- Fold-down table
- A magazine
- Airsickness bag
- Blanket
- Amenities bag
- Headphones
- Safety and evacuation card
For entertainment during the flight, there may be a main screen that is viewable by everyone in a cabin or individual screens available for each passenger.Economy standards differ depending on the carrier as some may charge additional fees for entertainment. This means that the passengers may have to pay for the use of headphones, individual screens and so on.
Some airlines no longer provide meals for their passengers in domestic flights. They only cater for passengers in international flights.The only way such domestic flight passengers can get meals would be to patronize airport vendors authorized by the airline to sell packaged meals. Some low-cost carriers require passengers to pay for meals, drinks, checked bags, blankets, pillows and even check-in.
There is also a slightly advanced class called the economy plus. The quality of service rendered to passengers in premium economy class depends on the carrier. Basic economy (last) class is lower than regular economy. For now, only few airlines have provision for that.
Business Class
A great number of commercial airlines make provisions for business class services during flights. Business class was meant to be between economy class and first class, but it isnow regarded as the highest in the travel class model of some carriers. Business class is called club class by some airlines.
This class started in the ‘70s and became more advanced in 1976, with the introduction of the Full Fare Facilities (FFF) service. This meant that full-fare and discount-fare passengers were separated from each other in the economy class cabin. The full-fare passengers were made to sit in-between the economy and first class cabin.
First Class
First class has more features and benefits than business class. It is not available in some carriers, where business class is considered to be the highest. This service is limited to very few passengers and is characterized by spacious cabins as well as increased comfort and privacy.
Thankfully, with these travel classes in place, you can choose the one that suits your budget. Your budget for holiday extras is also an important part of your vacation plans. Finding cost-effective options is quite easy when you do enough online research. Below is a list of some of the holiday extras you should put into consideration:
- Seat Upgrades
- Travel insurance
- Car hire
- Airport parking
- Airport hotels
- Airport lounge passes
- Airport transfers
Travelling by air may involve two or more flights with layovers in-between for longer journeys. The number of hub airports your flight is routed through determines the scheduling of layovers. Airlines can use the spoke-and-hub or the point-to-point model to handle flights from one airport to another.