ACI EUROPE DG: European airport competition for new routes continues to grow

ACI EUROPE DG Olivier Jankovec stated (Sep-2017) airlines "routinely" call on airports of all sizes to "make their best offers" for the launch of new routes. Mr Jankovec said a "major airline" believes the calls "give all of the airports in our network the opportunity to secure the best outcome" from their route planning. Mr Jankovec criticised the scheme, stating: "This is clearly nothing more than airport competition at play, orchestrated by powerful, dominant and profitable European airlines". Citing route liberalisation and airport privatisation, Mr Jankovec emphasised competition between European airports continues to grow. He reported that major European airports compete for point-to-point and transfer traffic "in order to expand both their route/airline portfolio and reduce their dependence on established hub carriers", while small regional airports "have also become accustomed to market pressures, as they compete for no-frills and regional services". [more - original PR]