Nowadays air travel is cheaper than in the past

IELTS Writing Task 2 with sample answer.

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Nowadays air travel is cheaper than in the past. Is this a positive or a negative development?

Discuss and give your own opinion.

Write at least 250 words.


Sample Answer 1:
In the past, flying used to be a thing only for affluent society. Now the airfare is cheaper than ever before, and it paves the way for the ordinary people to fly, which in turn helps poverty reduction. But, there is also negative impact on environment. That is why, some people consider the economical flight as boon, while others refute the claim. In my opinion, I think affordable fare is conducive to flourishing the economy.

To commence with, cheap air travel can damage environment both directly and indirectly. Aviation is immensely polluting mode of transport on the earth. The complex chemical reactions that occur when fuel is burnt at high altitude causes emissions from airliner almost four times as harmful as those at the ground level. The environmental damage continues when the substantial sums of tourists visit tourist land depleting natural resources.

On the flipside, reasonable airfare means more people are able to travel by aircraft. Which by consequence would boost the tourism industry. As a result, the industry can offer myriad opportunities for employment creation as well as local economic development. A substantial number of unemployed population can get rid of the unbearable poverty in consequence of job opportunities. Apart from that, many can move to abroad for better wage and can send remittance to their homeland. If the policymakers can offer mechanism and incentive for migrants and their families to invest the remittances in capital-accumulation projects, then it will perpetuate economic growth of the country.

Summing all of the above, it could easily concluded that cheaper air flight is a positive development despite its negative impact on environment.


Sample Answer 2:
Travelling is always delightful and recently the number of air travel has increased to a notable point. People now prefer air routes as this is comparatively cheaper and tussle-free mode of transport. Air travel has become cheaper in the current days. So, the frequent trips on air should also be considered as a positive indicator for development.

Development is an ongoing process and it does not indicate only the financial development, it refers about the entire advancement for a country, a society or in individual level. Thereby, when people of a specific society or community travel by air, it definitely is the indicator for their overall development.

Besides, the prices of the air traveling has been made cheaper and now people travel from country to country by air whereas they used to travel on land routes or in some cases they used the water ways. But with the development of science, everything has been made easier. As a result, the prices for the air travel tickets have been lowered to some notable extent which inspires the passengers to get a trip by the airplane.

Moreover, air travel has some other benefits like security and comfort. It also saves time of the travelers. During the 19th century, for instance, when a man wanted to travel India from England, s/he only had the land and water way to explore and that was time consuming too. But with the passage of time, air routes have been developed across the world which is of course the symbol of development.

Lastly, it could be said that air travel is getting popular day after day for its extraordinary features. Moreover, air travel was limited only for the rich people in the past but now there are no such limitations or discriminations found, anyone could board on an airplane to have a trip. In fact, development occurs when everyone participates to any specific issue spontaneously, and as all classes of people have access to air travel and they use it as a usual transportation mode, undoubtedly this should be considered is a positive development.