Tickets on low-cost airlines can cost as little as half those on full service carriers, according to a report released by the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels.
The report looked at the impact of low-cost airlines and their role in bringing the EU citizens closer together. It referred to a European Flight Index35 study conducted by travel and shopping comparison website Kelkoo, found that low-cost airlines offer, on average, 33 per cent lower fares as opposed to full service carriers, without taking into account additional charges.
However, when the latter are taken into account, the average price differential can exceed 50 per cent – and even more than tickets are purchased well in advance.
Additionally, the price differential varies between domestic and international fares: 40 per cent cheaper on international flights compared to 20 per cent cheaper on domestic flights.
“This means people from relatively lower income backgrounds, who would not otherwise be able to travel by air, now have the chance and not only domestically, but also internationally. Significantly lower airfares are therefore one of the main contributions of low-cost airlines towards connecting people and places,” the report said.
According to an air connectivity index developed by the European Commission and Eurocontrol, low-cost airlines reached nearly 60 per cent of the EU’s population in 2017.
Low-cost airlines have had a profound impact on the sector since they spiralled in the early 2000s.
They increased their market share from 5 per cent in 1998 to 30 per cent in 2008, while the market share of legacy carriers declined from 78 per cent to 60 per cent over the same decade, with the remaining market share taken up by regional carriers or charters.
As of 2012, the market share of low-cost airlines (44.8%) exceeded that of legacy carriers (42.4%) and this trend seems set to continue: they represented 48 per cent of the seat capacity in 2015, according to a 2017 European Parliament study.
“Allowing economically constrained individuals to travel by air is one of the most important contributions of low-cost airlines to the mobility of people, which, in turn, contributes to connectivity between geographical areas,” it said.
“The main channels through which LCCs can have an impact on mobility and integration in Europe. These range from facilitating labour and student mobility and business travel to visiting family and friends and leisure tourism.”
A recent report on the economic impacts of European airports also suggests more than 12 million jobs are generated by the airport sector and a significant, if not the largest, contribution to such employment is made by low-cost airlines, thanks to their reliance on staff provided by local suppliers.
The report was prepared in collaboration with Ryanair but its authors stressed that the outcomes were independent and unbiased.