Second tier LCCs playing major role in reshaping European aviation (Part 1)
European LCCs, led by Ryanair, easyJet and Air Berlin, commanded 32% of intra-Europe capacity (seats) in 2009, representing spectacular growth from just 4.6% less than 10 years ago in 2001 and a 20.2% share in 2005. But the 'big three' are just part of the story. This special two-part CAPA report looks beyond the headline-grabbing 'big three' European LCCs to provide updates on more than 20 of Europe’s secondary LCCs. Part I reviews Air Southwest, Anadolujet, Atlasjet Airlines, Belle Air, Blue Express, Blue Air, bmibaby, CLICK4SKY, Flybe, Germanwings, Iceland Express and Jet2.com, while Part II (coming soon) will review the progress at Monarch, NIKI, Pegasus Airlines, SkyExpress, Smart Wings, Sun Express, Sverigeflyg, Thomson Airways, Transavia.com, TUIFly, Wind Jet and Wizz Air.