New airline to give wings to backpackers

Forget those long, mind-numbing hours crammed into a seat with nothing but an airline magazine and a tedious movie to get you through a long-haul flight from Britain or Europe to Australia. By next year, backpackers may be able to make the trip on a plane that has personal media players, dozens of movies on DVD, a cafe-bar and a social director.

BackpackersXpress is the brainchild of two Brisbane, Australia-based businessmen — former Qantas pilot Gordon Layton and travel industry veteran Glenn Millen. It's aimed at the half-million European and North American backpackers who head Down Under each year.

The airline, which plans to use two Boeing 747-400 aircraft, should be operating by the end of the year (the launch was delayed from June), offering flights to Melbourne, Australia, from Manchester, England, and Munich, Germany.

Fares should be competitive, but what could make the service most attractive to backpackers is ticket flexibility. Travelers will be able to make stopovers and changes to tickets without additional fees. Plans are for flights to stop in Bangkok, Thailand, and another Asian city.

One attractive design idea is a cafe and bar instead of a first- or business-class seating area. "Obviously, if we lease or charter an aircraft, we will not be able to do this initially, but once we own, the bar-cafe becomes a feature," says Don Norton, a spokesman for BackpackersXpress.

Crew members will also encourage networking among the passengers — making introductions and organizing activities. "If you are traveling to Australia for the first time, we might put you together with four of our other people with a view of establishing relationships and friendships," Norton says.

BackpackersXpress tickets will be sold through selected travel agencies and http://www.backpackersxpress.com . You can sign up online to receive updates. So far, 40,000 travelers have subscribed.