LCCs in Asia Pacific: two decades of steady market share gains

Low cost airlines were late to arrive in Asia. At the turn of the century there were only two very small LCCs operating in all of Asia Pacific, whereas LCCs had already captured significant market share in Europe and North America.

The CAPA LCCs in North Asia Summit is scheduled for the 24-25 June in Cebu. To register for this event, visit lcc19.capaevents.com

LCCs in Asia have since expanded rapidly and successfully, despite fierce resistance from legacy full service airlines. LCCs now account for nearly 30% of capacity within Asia Pacific.

There are still opportunities for further capacity share gains as several major markets in Asia remain well below the global average. China particularly is punching below its weight in terms of LCCs.

• LCCs accounted for 29% seat capacity within Asia Pacific in 2018, compared to 14% in 2008 and virtually zero in 1998.
• LCCs now account for more than 50% of domestic capacity in seven Asian markets.
• LCCs now account for more than 30% of international capacity in six Asian markets.
• Of the 20 largest markets in Asia Pacific, the international penetration rate is higher than the global average in 16 of those markets

As one of the discussion topics at the forthcoming 2019 LCCs in North Asia Summit, CAPA - Centre for Aviation will explore this subject with the help of carriers such as Jeju Air, T'way Air, Cebgo and Peach Aviation.

As a precursor to the event and this important discussion, let's take a look at CAPA's Executive Chairman Peter Harbison delivering his LCCs in North Asia Outlook at last year's event: