It isn’t for reasons of cheap holidays that excite him as much as what he’s planning to do with his enterprise.

Lee's firm has a staff of six university-trained, Internet-savvy workers who help him mete out advice on matters ranging from developing business opportunities to improving share prices.

With an office a stone’s throw from Orchard Road, he finds the operation cost excessively high.

Exactly how low will the fares be is still not clear. Return fare to Kuala Lumpur is reported to be about S$50.

When it arrives in the first half of next year, the cheap, no-frills era will transform the way Singaporeans and others live, work, do business and have fun. Over lunch, Lee told me he is considering moving his small operation to Kuala Lumpur. Because of his commitment to the staff, he will offer them the first right of refusal.

If they agree to relocate, he will arm them each with a laptop to service their clients in Singapore.

“Each will operate his or her own account and get a share of the retainers,” he said of his novel idea.

Otherwise, he would recruit Malaysians.

“This is an option to carry on the Singapore business from KL, bypassing the high cost of operation,” he said.

Much of his work can be done via the Internet or teleconferencing.

“If there’s a need to meet clients, we’ll fly down,” he said.

That’s where the S$50 flight will make a world of difference. It can’t be done under the current high air fares.

“Occasionally, a client may tell you at 10am he wants to meet over lunch. That’s when the cheap fare will make it possible,” said Lee.

“This new trend will surely cause some service business to move to cheaper neighbouring cities. If we can think of it, so will others.”

One obstacle against it taking off in a big way is protectionism and lack of political will.

The other is, of course, the danger of terrorism. Security checks and fast mass air travel do not go well together.

Malaysia’s low-cost airline, AirAsia, has applied for flights into Changi Airport. From January, it will start cheap flights to Phuket in southern Thailand, marking its first overseas destination.

Singapore’s new Valuair has also applied to start no-frills flights. It will start operations in the first half of 2004.

Meanwhile, Singapore Airline (SIA) says it is keen to start its own budget airline; an announcement is expected before the year-end.

And Australian carrier Virgin Blue wants to set up base in Singapore.

(Singapore has announced it is studying Thailand's offer of rights to jointly operate a budget airline on regional routes.)

After a few years of settling down, the new trend will bring a mixed bag of disadvantages and advantages for Singapore – and other countries.

The cheap flights will make the world smaller and bring in more visitors from East and West, a trend welcomed most by hotels, restaurants and shops.

Initially, the biggest benefit is tourism since many of the destinations are popular resorts. Budget flying will bring out more budget hotels.

In Singapore, it may give rise to a new business – renting out empty Housing Development Board flats for large numbers of “cheap” travellers. This had been under consideration for some time.

Singapore already has a number of budget hotels that will benefit from any upsurge in the number of low-budget tourists.

There will be two quick impacts.

First, it will make travelling within reach of millions of Asians and non-Asians. Second, the travel pattern will change for many. Instead of a once-a-year long vacation, many middle-class families will take more frequent, shorter holidays.

But the era of low-cost carriers has introduced some uncertainty for SIA and other big airlines.

At least one international research house, ING Financial Markets Research, has downgraded its rating on the stock from “buy” to “hold.”

Cheaper – and more frequent – flights will bring long-term benefits, giving Singaporeans easier access to bigger markets.

As it restructures its economy into a service hub, the new era may give it added impetus for future growth. It will eventually change people’s mindsets on time and distance, enhancing its future role as a business hub.

Singapore’s professionals can work in the region and travel home frequently. More foreign entrepreneurs may base their families here to do business in the region.

The healthcare sector may benefit. Since the region’s financial crisis, the number of foreign patients, especially Indonesians, who come to Singapore for treatment in private and public hospitals has been declining.

Operators hope lower fares will attract more patients from further afield. Some hospitals have offered foreigners cheaper healthcare facilities.

A group of Singapore hospitals has offered Pakistanis a healthcare package of US or UK standard but much less expensive, said Dr Zakirddin Ahmad, Singapore’s National University Hospital (NUH) representative in Pakistan.

Another beneficiary is its schools. Cheaper travel may encourage more foreigners to send their children here to study, encouraged by the possibility of more frequent home visits.

On Wednesday, the government announced that five local and foreign schools were keen to set up new private secondary schools and junior colleges in Singapore. A major objective is to attract students from abroad.

Not everyone is crazy about the idea, though.

Some oppose it for environment, health or social reasons.

“I do not like people being able to freely travel anywhere at any time. We will have more SARS-type epidemics,” noted one chat-site message.

A scenario of endless streams of planes landing and taking off stirs up anxiety of more air accidents and social pollution, it added. “An invasion of foreign tourists will mean only one thing: Our lifestyles will suffer.”

o Seah Chiang Nee is a veteran journalist and editor of the information website littlespeck.com (e-mail: cnseah2000@ littlespeck.com )

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