1. Introduction
Low cost airlines such as EasyJet, and Ryanair have developed quickly in the European market in the last five years. The UK market has seen the most dramatic development where by the summer of 2001, these carriers accounted for over 22% of the short haul capacity from London and were present in 58% of the 128 short haul routes operated from this city (source: OAG, 2001). During a five-year period from 1997, the seat capacity offered from London has risen by 17%, and virtually all of this rise (95.4%) was attributable to the low cost carriers.
The low cost carriers have…
