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Books

No Frills
The Truth Behind the Low-Cost Revolution in The Skies

A book about low-cost airlines was a departure from previous travel guides. But the no-frills carriers fascinated me, ever since Freddie Laker set up Skytrain. I used to clean out his planes at Gatwick, and never imagined that I would ever be able to fly the Atlantic. But thanks to his innovative scheme to fly between Gatwick and New York JFK for £59 each way, I found I could.
Fast-forward to 1995, when a gregarious Greek Cypriot, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, decided to launch easyJet. He soon showed that travellers had been paying far too much for far too long. Across in Dublin, Michael O'Leary was busily transforming Ryanair from a loss-making traditional airline into the lowest-cost carrier in Europe. When British Airways decided to muscle in on the game, the travel industry was set for a showdown.

During the writing of No Frills, I was privileged to see the industry from the inside, and to get access to all the top players - including Sir Freddie, at his villa in the Bahamas.