(By Kirsty Needham) JetBlue Airways LogoPLANS by Qantas to introduce a low-cost domestic airline to compete with Virgin Blue come as no-frills airlines revolutionize air travel worldwide. With no tickets, seat allocation, frequent flyer points, refunds or free meals, and turn-around of aircraft within 30 minutes, the services can seem more like a bus shuttle. According to the website http://lowcostairlines.org , there are 34 no-frills airlines in Europe, 13 in the United States and five in Asia, and the list is growing. Air New Zealand introduced a no-frills service to Australia last week, due to begin in October. Passengers have been warned to "bring a good book" because there will be no free newspapers and magazines. Children's meals and infant supplies also will not be available. The cheapest "use it or lose it" fares mean passengers who miss their flight have to pay for another ticket. No changes can be made to fares. Since Air New Zealand started a domestic no-frills service a year ago, passenger numbers had risen 23 percent, the airline said. In the United States, Delta Air Lines introduced its Song service in April, with self-service kiosk check-in or the option of passengers checking in at home up to a day in advance and printing their own boarding pass. Free soft drinks and water are available, but passengers pay for food. No-frills JetBlue and budget pioneer Southwest were reported to be the only US airlines to make a profit last year. JetBlue enjoyed passenger growth of 71 percent. In Europe, passenger numbers on ticketless, foodless easyJet rose 75 percent last year with a service that sells one-way fares online, and does not offer refunds or alterations. A downside for passengers is that many low-cost airlines avoid hefty landing fees by choosing small airports that may be far from the destination city. In Europe, Ryanair has attracted complaints because its flights to Frankfurt land in Hahn, about 100 kilometers from Frankfurt. Flight Center's managing director, Graham Turner, said the international experience showed there was a big opportunity for new-style airlines to make money. Regardless of whether they had to pay for food, consumers would book with discount airlines if they met basic requirements on leg room, and the food was edible, Turner said. "Many so-called full-service carriers have coffee that is undrinkable," he said. But he questioned whether the Qantas proposal was "mutton dressed up as lamb". "It has to be a new model, not the old Qantas model without the unions." Qantas frequent flyers traveling on Australian Airlines - its Asian "low-cost carrier" - have found themselves refused entry to Qantas Club lounges. Qantas said that apart from this, and restrictions on earning points, the service on Australian Airlines was no different to that on regular Qantas flight. Analysts believe Qantas will be more ruthless in reducing onboard and other services on a domestic discount carrier. The founder of http://frequentflyer.com.au , Clifford Reichlin, said it was likely a no-frills Qantas domestic airline would not cater to frequent flyers. "Competition is always a good thing, provided they lower their cost structure to offer competition on fares. Otherwise they will recoup it somewhere else. Qantas travel will become premium paid." -The Sydney Morning Herald __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com