LCC’s turning into ‘hybrids’ – report
Low cost carriers have turned into a new breed of “hybrid” airlines which have adopted the methods of the traditional carrier in order to capture the lucrative business travel market, according to a new report by Sabre.
The technology company’s airline arm Sabre Airline Solutions has just released a study that shows that of 123 budget carriers, a whopping 59% had begun to offer products and services that strayed beyond the remit of a low cost carrier. Some 7% had become full service carriers.
Adopted practices include international routes, using the GDS sustem, codeshare agreements, connecting services, multiple fares available at any time, advanced ticketing procedures, multiple aircraft types, multiple classes of service, interline agreements and long-haul destinations
Just 41% of the airlines remained pure LCC carriers, selling point-to-point routes on one-class travel, using simple fares, with no codeshare, on the same aircraft type.
And it is the hybrid carriers that are walking off with the LCC market share – in 2007 these airlines flew 64% of passengers looking for budget air travel.
The research identifies easyJet, Germanwings, Norwegian Air Shuttle, bmibaby, Sterling Airlines, KDAvia, Centralwings, Blue Panorama Airlines and Flybaboo as hybrid airlines now along with Southwest Airlines, Jet Blue, West Jet, Air Tran Airways, Virgin Blue and GOL.
Vice president of Sabre Airline Solutions in Europe Murray Smyth said: “The LCC segment is one of the most competitive in the airline industry and this has spurred many pure LCCs to explore new ways of evolving their business to remain competitive and sustainable.
“For many, this has meant adopting some full-service carrier business practices to help grow their passenger base and expand their reach in the marketplace, although they have often added their own twist on how these business practices are implemented.”
He added: “Many of these airlines have evolved into a ‘hybrid’ carrier in order to make a play for the highly lucrative business traveller, who has a completely different set of needs and shopping behaviors from the leisure traveller that LCCs have traditionally targeted.”
By: Dinah Hatch
Phil Davies
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