Spain: Discount airlines dominate Spanish air market

Data published by Spain’s Ministry of Tourism shows low-cost companies already dominating the Spanish skies.

Passengers on these airlines, led by the likes of Ryanair, EasyJet and Vueling, have increased 13.9% so far this year. And in 10 months they have accounted for 52.5% of the 77.1 million foreign passengers received in the country, when only a year ago these companies barely broke even, clocking in at 50.1% and 49.6 % two years before that. Between them, the three ‘low cost’ leaders- Ryanair, easyJet and Vueling – transported 66.5% of the passengers that came to Spain in a low cost airline.

However, the increase in demand for flights was also reflected, albeit less dramatically, in traditional airlines. They registered a passenger increase of 0.8% last month, accounting for 47.5% of the market. From January to October of this year, the number of passengers grew 3.5%.

The demand for low cost flights to Spain is so high—having increased by 9.1% October—that there seems to yet be room for more competition. This is the case for Jet2, which has now started to compete in the United Kingdom—Europe’s largest tourism market—with Ryanair and easyJet in destinations where they have long been market leaders.

Full Content: El Mundo

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