UK budget airlines outperforming full fare carriers

Many budget carriers in the UK are faring better financially than their full-fare rivals in the struggling airline industry, suggests a new study.

The study, based on data from the Official Airline Guide (OAG), documents that the rising cost of jet fuel combined with the country’s weakened economy, is crippling the industry - slowing annual growth to one per cent.

In the low-cost airline sector, however, the growth figures are significantly higher, with the budget carriers showing 13 per cent growth, as compared to the same period in 2007.

The picture in the US is somewhat different, where there has been a four per cent increase in low-cost services, and a two per cent drop in overall domestic capacity. Around 21,500 flights have been cut in the US.

In Europe, services fared a bit better, and the Middle East and India continued to outperform all other areas, showing growth rates of 20 and 34 per cent, respectively.

A spokesman for OAG, Steve Causley, noted that July’s figures “reveal signs of an impending downturn in the aviation industry”.

He added: “While some regions continue to show steady growth, the impact from the current climate in the United States is already contributing to an overall slowdown in the global figures.”

www.oag.com