Page 10 - AAA APRIL - MAY 2017 Online Magazine

FeAtUre LOW COST CARRIERS

Room for More

Quite a number of the LCCs in the region are owned by full service airline groups thus there
is some dilution of the LCC model
By Geoffrey Thomas

FroM virtUALLY notHing in 2000 to based Wizz and Mexico based Volaris. the wide variety of circumstances and
rewriting travel patterns across the Asian Speaking on CAPA Centre for Aviation cultures in which they have been set up.
region, the story of the rise and rise of low TV in November Franke said that Indigo That is highlighted by Franke’s comments
cost carriers (LCCs) in the region has been believes there could be room for a ULCC on CAPA TV when he said that potential
one of spectacular success. But according in the Southeast Asian market despite LCC investment in North Asia, for his group,
to one the world experts in that space already intense competition and a huge “is not currently on the table,” because of
Indigo Partners Chairman William Franke LCC order book, “because the LCCs now restrictive bilaterals. And that is despite the
there are few pure LCCS, and the time operating in this region are not true to the fact that LCCs in North Asia only account
– and place - is right for a ULCC or Ultra LCC model.” Quite a number of the LCCs in for 11 per cent of the market. And while there
Low Cost Carrier. Indigo set up the ULCC the region are owned by full service airline will be sceptics of the ULCC model working
model at Spirit Airlines and still owns groups thus there is some dilution of the there were many who thought the LCC
Frontier Airlines, which is also a ULCC LCC model. In Asia LCCS have strayed model would not work in 2002 when Tony
and Franke is on the board of Hungary- from the traditional model because of Fernandes launched AirAsia.

10 ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE APRIL / MAY 2017 WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA