This week, a new British budget airline launched with a promise to reverse some of the industry's most unpopular practices, by only flying to major airports and, most significantly, providing a clear, consistent pricing structure.

Instead of having a few seats available on every flight at rock-bottom prices, the new airline, Now, will charge the same price for every passenger, with slight seasonal variations. And with only an advertised extra £5 tax, the difference between the price you think you're paying and the eventual cost will be negligible compared to other airlines' mark-ups.

The people behind Now claim that this pricing model will eventually become industry standard. Of course, if you've made a habit of picking up a 99p plus tax return with Ryanair this might not sound great news. But after certain disingenuous flight promotions, where most of the few free seats seem to disappear before the ads do, it's a refreshing move.

While Now starts flying this summer from Luton with standard £55 fares to places such as Lisbon, Ibiza and Tenerife, it will only be offering around 650,000 seats - a drop in the ocean beside the 14 million or so who flew annually with Ryanair, even before the Buzz takeover.

The launch came just two days after consumers once again voted Ryanair bottom of the budget pile in a survey in Which? magazine, with the usual complaints about cleanliness and customer service. And, as ever, the unrepentant Irish airline pointed to the numbers who "voted with their feet" by travelling with them. Passengers, it seems, shouldn't expect wholesale changes anytime soon.