An excellent write-up by Mark Thomas on what the invasion by budget airlines will mean for Bulgaria. According to the author, the general perception is that low-cost flyers will open up Europe for the Bulgarians; but he contends that there are many hidden costs such as cost of baggage, credit card fees, and assorted taxes that are being played down by the advertisers.
Mark says that it is not low-cost carriers per se that will lead to cheaper flights but the competition that they engender. He feels that the lines between traditional and budget flyers have blurred and there is no hard and fast rule that only budget carriers offer the lowest rates. A country that is doing very well on the tourism front would want to provide easy access to travelers and to that extent it will not really bother whether the service providers are new comers or established names in the airline industry.