دانلود رایگان مقاله واگذاری پایه با حامل کم هزینه

abstract

This paper is the first attempt to systematically investigate the phenomenon of base abandonments by low-cost carriers (LCCs) in the world, from 1997 to 2014. Our results identify 109 cases where the LCCs decreased their presence in airports by at least 50 per cent in terms of offered seats. In 28 cases, the LCCs completely abandoned the airports. The incidence of downsizing is significantly reduced for important base airports. The abandonment by LCCs can be reversed, even though this is not very likely; in only 7.3 per cent of cases the same LCCs recovered full capacity. The impact on airports of LCC abandonments depends on the carrier level of dominance. The presence of middle size alternative airports increases the likelihood of downsizings.

6. Conclusion

This analysis covered 813 airport-LCC pairs in which the carriers offered at least 500,000 annual seats in the period. Our results identify 109 cases (13.4 per cent of the total number of airport-LCC pairs) where the LCCs decreased their presence in airports by at least 50 per cent in terms of offered seats. In 28 cases (3.4 per cent), the LCCs completely abandoned the airports. The highest number of abandonments occurred in years 2008 and 2009, corresponding to a slow-growth period of the air transport industry, decreasing significantly in the final year, 2014, which registered only four cases of LCC downsizings. Ryanair is the LCC responsible for the highest number of downsizings in the world, 22, six of which are cases of complete abandonment, followed by Air Berlin, Southwest, easyJet, and BlueJet