Hello major airports, goodbye regional airports? Recent changes in European and US low-cost airline airport choice

Low-cost carriers (LCCs) are assumed to adopt a certain business model in which an important element is the concentration of services at secondary and regional airports. Yet, evidence suggests that increasingly LCCs also establish themselves in what can be considered the major airports. This raises the question of whether LCCs are changing their business model and adopting practices associated with the traditional, incumbent airlines, and if so what might cause such change. Based on categorization of airports and using OAG flight data the US and European markets are investigated. Focusing on several LCCs, with more attention given to Southwest and Ryanair, their profile of operation with respect to the type of airports used is analysed for a period of between 15 and 25 years and up to 2015. The results clearly indicate that LCCs are increasing their operations from major airports, while generally continuing their growth and expansion strategy. The main implication of which is the increase in direct competition between LCCs and traditional airlines while the impacts of this change on the smaller airports are not clear yet and need to be investigated further.

[1]  Diego J. Pedregal,et al.  What role will hubs play in the LCC point-to-point connections era? The Spanish experience , 2012 .

[2]  S. Ison,et al.  The transferability of the low-cost model to long-haul airline operations. , 2007 .

[3]  D. Banister,et al.  Air deregulation in China and its impact on airline competition 1994–2012 , 2016 .

[4]  Aisling J. Reynolds-Feighan.  Characterisation of airline networks: A North American and European comparison , 2010 .

[5]  Keith G. Debbage,et al.  Locational determinants of major US air passenger markets by metropolitan area , 2006 .

[6]  A. Graham.  Understanding the low cost carrier and airport relationship: a critical analysis of the salient issues. , 2013 .

[7]  F. Dobruszkes.  The geography of European low-cost airline networks: a contemporary analysis , 2013 .

[8]  C. Barbot.  Low-cost airlines, secondary airports, and state aid: An economic assessment of the Ryanair–Charleroi Airport agreement , 2006 .

[9]  Brian Graham,et al.  Low-cost airlines in Europe: Reconciling liberalization and sustainability , 2008 .

[10]  J. G. de Wit,et al.  The growth limits of the low cost carrier model , 2012 .

[11]  David Gillen,et al.  Competitive advantage of low-cost carriers: some implications for airports , 2004 .

[12]  K. V. Dender,et al.  Air travel choices in multi-airport markets☆ , 2006 .

[13]  Richard de Neufville,et al.  Low-Cost Airports for Low-Cost Airlines: Flexible Design to Manage the Risks , 2008 .

[14]  Shinya Hanaoka,et al.  Low cost airport terminal locations and configurations , 2011 .

[15]  J. Denstadli,et al.  Booming Leisure Air Travel to Norway – The Role of Airline Competition , 2010 .

[16]  Sven Maertens,et al.  Estimating the market power of airports in their catchment areas – a Europe-wide approach , 2012 .

[17]  F. Dobruszkes.  Geographies of European Air Transport , 2014 .

[18]  B. Vasigh,et al.  Introduction to Air Transport Economics: From Theory to Applications , 2008 .

[19]  M. Pulina,et al.  Have low-cost carriers influenced tourism demand and supply? The case of Alghero, Italy , 2010 .

[20]  Andreas Papatheodorou,et al.  Leisure travel in Europe and airline business models: A study of regional airports in Great Britain , 2006 .

[21]  Asun Galera,et al.  Effect of low-cost airlines on tourism in Spain. A dynamic panel data model , 2011 .

[22]  Quentin David,et al.  Is bigger better? Economic performances of European cities, 1960-2009 , 2013 .

[23]  Catherine Dehon,et al.  Does European high-speed rail affect the current level of air services? An EU-wide analysis , 2014 .

[24]  Andrew R. Goetz,et al.  Air Passenger Transportation and Growth in the U.S. Urban System, 1950–1987 , 1992 .

[25]  D. Paliska,et al.  Passengers' airport choice and airports' catchment area analysis in cross-border Upper Adriatic multi-airport region , 2016 .

[26]  Xavier Fageda,et al.  The evolving low-cost business model: Network implications of fare bundling and connecting flights in Europe , 2015 .

[27]  G. Bel.  How to compete for a place in the world with a hand tied behind your back: the case of air transport services in Girona. , 2009 .

[28]  R. Lieshout.  Measuring the size of an airport’s catchment area , 2012 .

[29]  S. Ison,et al.  Airports’ perspectives on the growth of low-cost airlines and the remodeling of the airport–airline relationship , 2004 .

[30]  S. Sassen.  The global city: introducing a concept , 2005 .

[31]  Barry Berman.  How to compete effectively against low-cost competitors , 2015 .

[32]  A. Laurino,et al.  Low-cost carriers and secondary airports: Three experiences from Italy , 2014 .

[33]  Eric Tchouamou Njoya,et al.  Do dedicated low-cost passenger terminals create competitive advantages for airports? , 2011 .

[34]  M. Graham.  Different models in different spaces or liberalized optimizations? Competitive strategies among low-cost carriers , 2009 .

[35]  Graham Francis,et al.  Airport–airline interaction: the impact of low-cost carriers on two European airports , 2003 .

[36]  Renato Redondi,et al.  Base abandonments by low-cost carriers , 2016 .

[37]  J. D. Wit,et al.  Route churn: an analysis of low-cost carrier route continuity in Europe , 2016 .

[38]  S. Gross,et al.  The Low Cost Carrier – A Worldwide Phenomenon?! , 2016 .

[39]  Kenneth Button,et al.  A Dictionary of Transport Analysis , 2012 .

[40]  M. Donzelli.  The effect of low-cost air transportation on the local economy: Evidence from Southern Italy , 2010 .

[41]  Frédéric Dobruszkes,et al.  Assessing the impacts of aviation liberalisation on tourism: Some methodological considerations derived from the Moroccan and Tunisian cases , 2016 .