THE LOW COST TO THE RESCUE OF STANDARD-BEARERS
Ryanair’s low fares revolution changed Europe forever. Flying is no longer the preserve of the rich few, borders have effectively disappeared and air travel has been democratised and irrevocably transformed for the better. Fast forward from 1985, when Ryanair was formed, and the outlook for Europe’s flag carrier airlines is now very different. Some have collapsed (Spanair, Malev), others have consolidated (BA, Aer Lingus & Iberia, Air France/KLM) or have ceded control to Gulf carriers to stay afloat (Alitalia, Air Berlin). It’s taken over 30 years for the high fare airlines to realise their customers have rapidly moved on. The two largest airlines in Europe are low fare carriers, Ryanair and Easyjet, who are growing short haul markets, even while flag carriers cut capacity to concentrate on long haul routes where LCCs don’t operate. Their focus has shifted to feeding major hubs and long haul traffic. Paradoxically, the very shift caused by low cost competition offers a greater opportunity for the two types of airlines to work together. Code sharing is nothing new in the airline industry, but the concept of low cost airlines feeding flag-carriers is, and I believe it will happen from 2016 onwards. It’s a logical move. Take Dublin as an example, where Ryanair operates 85 routes, connecting to 25 countries. Why shouldn’t a customer living in Poland who wants to travel to America fly with Ryanair to Dublin and connect onto a transatlantic airline ? The mechanics and demand are there and Ryanair is in talks with several long haul carriers to bring down the prices of connecting flights onto long haul services. The Ryanair revolution will be followed by evolution — and the winners will once again be European consumers and visitors.