On November 23, 1995, a start-up airline with a couple of planes with orange paint jobs launched £29 flights from Luton to Edinburgh and Glasgow. Just over 12 years later, that price has fallen to £16.99, and EasyJet has grown to become Britain’s biggest no-frills airline.

In 2008, one in 10 flights leaving Gatwick will be orange and, with the takeover of the British Airways franchisee GB Airways at the end of March, EasyJet will stretch the no-frills ordeal to destinations as distant as the Canary Islands and Egypt. The big question now is whether the company will make the five-hour slogs to airports such as Tenerife South, Sharm el Sheikh and Paphos any more bearable than the grim conditions we’ve all learnt to withstand on shorter no-frills flights.

GB Airways currently operates nine Airbus A320s and six Airbus A321s, with a BA-standard seat pitch of 31in. EasyJet likes to pack us into a 29in seat pitch, so cabins will be reconfigured to squeeze in a few more seats when the airline takes over on March 31.

“The plan is to offer the standard EasyJet product on all flights,” the carrier says, “although the GB Airways fleet has in-flight entertainment facilities that we don’t have on our other aircraft, and we’re not sure what to do about that yet. They may be stripped out, though we’re thinking we could make more profit by selling in-flight movies instead.” The new order won’t please travellers who booked flights with GB Airways before EasyJet announced its takeover. Those departing on flights up to March 31 will still benefit from full-service airline perks such as free meals and complimentary bar service, but from April 1 the frills will be stripped away. EasyJet says that if prebooked passengers don’t like the new conditions, they can claim a refund.

So, with less legroom, no free drinks and cheese sandwiches on sale at £3 a throw, are the prices low enough to tempt us to fly as far as Egypt the Easy way? The introductory fare to Egypt is “from £69.99”, one-way, but finding it is a fool’s errand. A return flight, leaving Gatwick on April 3 – the first Thursday after EasyJet takes over GB Airways – and coming back a week later, costs £457.58, including taxes and one checked bag. Fly from the same airport on the same day with Excel Airways, which offers an inch more legroom, and the price is £333, a saving of more than £120.

We scanned the whole year and found the average price of a one-way ticket to Sharm el Sheikh to be nearly three times the £70 rate, at £199. The average price of a return across the entire 2008 season turns out to be an even less frilling £349.

Better fares can be found to Cyprus: an EasyJet return to Paphos from Manchester on June 4 costs £157.96, and that’s a deal, with the nearest competitor coming in at £219.98. If you fancy a week in Tenerife in August, however, you can fly cheaper with Monarch. It has a return, for £223.14, flying from Gatwick on August 3. The EasyJet fare is £306.96.

So, with the no-frills formula apparently unable to compete with charter airlines over longer routes, is there any chance of a foray into true long-haul routes such as America and Asia?

Probably not, because the likes of EasyJet, Ryanair, Wizz Air and Flybe are happiest on short hops. With turnarounds whittled down to the time it takes for a cursory clean and to refill the tanks, the aim is to maximise each aircraft’s earning potential by flying as many trips as possible in any 24-hour period.

“With our new Airbus A320s, destinations like New York and Boston are just in range,” EasyJet says, “but we can make more money flying to Amsterdam and back five times a day than by operating a single return flight to New York.”

Cheap long-haul

WE HAVE yet to see a true no-frills carrier revolutionise long-haul air travel the way the likes of EasyJet and Ryanair transformed the European skies, but you can still go a long way on the cheap if you know where to look. All fares are one-way unless otherwise stated.

Far East: Asia has embraced the low-cost revolution, although conditions on board are often comparable to economy seats on scheduled airlines. You can fly to Hong Kong tomorrow for £197 with Oasis Hong Kong Airlines (01293 501152, www.oasishongkong.com) – that’s £45 less than the cheapest BA fare, with an inch more legroom and the same full-service benefits, including free food and wine. Oasis also flies across the Pacific to Vancouver (from £219).

If you are Australia-bound, Jetstar (www.jetstar.com) flies from Hong Kong to Singapore from £35, then on to Darwin from another £43. Pricier, but more convenient, is the cut-price carrier Air Asia’s (www.airasia.com) connection from Singapore to Australia’s Gold Coast airport; £93.

Australia: as Jetstar is a Qantas subsidiary, you can get the low-cost long-haul experience right across the country, with sample fares including Perth to Melbourne for £67. The secret, as with all no-frills airlines, is to book well in advance. Jetstar’s rival, Virgin Blue (www.virginblue.com), offers flights from Darwin to Sydney for £105.

Canada and the USA: Zoom Airlines (0870 240 0055, www.flyzoom.com) is the cheapest way across the pond, with one-way flights from Gatwick to New York JFK starting at £129, although the astonishingly irritating website makes it hard to find the cheapest fares.

Zoom also flies to several destinations in Canada, including Vancouver (from £241), and last month added Fort Lauderdale and San Diego to its schedule, with fares starting at £399 and £449 respectively from Gatwick or Manchester. It offers a standard economy-class entertainment and food service.

Caribbean: although not strictly a no-frills carrier, Excel Airways often has Ryanair-esque fares for Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, St Kitts, St Lucia and Tobago. Current deals include returns from Gatwick to Tobago for £269, St Kitts for £273 and Barbados for £293.

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