Peter Harbison, chairman emeritus of CAPA-Centre for Aviation, sees growth in low cost airline or budget airline operations in the country. /Irene R. Sino Cruz
CEBU CITY, Philippines–The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) sees growth for low cost carriers (LCCs) or budget airlines amid upheavals in the airline industry.
CAPA-Centre for Aviation Chairman Emeritus Peter Harbison made this statement during the ongoing CAPA 2019 LCCs in North Asia Summit held in a hotel in Cebu City.
This is the first time that the CAPA LCCs in North Asia Summit is held in the Philippines.
CAPA-Centre for Aviation provides independent and unbiased market analysis for decision makers in global aviation.
Harbison said that the airline industry face uncertain times due to several factors, such as the possibility of recession. He also quoted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as having downgraded the gross domestic product growth forecast for 2019.
Noting that several factors affected major economies, IMF project global economy to slow down from 3.6 percent in 2018 to 3.3 percent in 2019.
According to Harbison, the balance would shift from full service airlines to LCCs that have captured significant market share in Europe and North America, according to CAPA.
“LCCs accounted for 29 percent seat capacity within Asia Pacific in 2018 and virtually zero in 1998,” he said.
LCCs has captured more than 50 percent of domestic capacity in seven Asian markets and over 30 percent of international capacity in six Asian markets. /dcb