LCCs change face of airports
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Airport operations and behaviour have changed rapidly across the world under the influence of low cost carrier (LCC) development, according to a report published by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.
The most dramatic impacts have been on so-called “secondary” airports near large cities. These were often previously often unused, or greatly under-utilised.
“Life has been breathed into them by the arrival of one or more LCCs,” said the 270-page report entitled, Low Cost Airport Terminals.
“For the first time, airlines have begun to shape the way airports operate”, said the report’s editor and Executive Chairman of the Centre, Peter Harbison.
“However, unlike airlines, airports have only a relatively limited armoury of competitive options.
“They are given their geography; infrastructure is largely inflexible and long term, capital planning needs do not synchronise with airline spending profiles, and, despite airline aggression (LCC and full service alike) aimed at reducing aeronautical charges, reducing charges alone cannot sustain air services where they are otherwise unviable”, he said.
According to Harbison, “there are however two vital messages: (1) LCCs offer remarkable opportunities for rapid growth,
sometimes with proportionately higher risk; and (2) the innovation and creativity of LCCs are necessary ingredients in responding effectively to the new profile of airline operation”.
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