Hybrid carriers outshine low cost carriers!!

More business travelers are preferring to use the hybrid carriers than the traditional low cost carriers.

WHAT COULD BE THE REASON?

As airlines continue to face economic and competitive issues by the day, more traditional LCCs are undergoing a metamorphosis by blending the characteristics of low cost and full-service models to create a new breed of airline to adjust to rapidly changing market conditions. In 2007 alone, these "hybrids" carried 64 percent of all passengers in the broader LCC segment.

Growing a low cost carrier business model for many players meant offering a blend of full service too as a part of thier package.

The study shows that full-service carrier attributes being meshed within the LCCs include use of the Global Distribution System (GDS), long-haul destinations, international routes, connecting services, advanced ticketing procedures, multiple fares available at any time, multiple aircraft types, multiple classes of service, interline agreements, and codeshare agreements. “Airlines that introduce more than three of these full-service characteristics should be considered a 'hybrid' carrier because each attribute adds a level of complexity and cost to the operating model that is inconsistent with the fundamental principles used to define low-cost carriers,” said Locke.

The global study also revealed that out of 123 self-nominated LCCs, 59 percent had added enough complexity to their business model in recent years that they had now evolved into a full service airline (7 percent) or were part of an emerging breed of “hybrid” carriers, which blend low cost carrier traits with that of full service carriers (52 percent).