Is low-cost love affair ending?

Last updated at 09:33 26 March 2004


The number of budget airline flights operating in Britain has fallen after years of spectacular growth, new figures suggest.

The study by flight information company OAG said there were 21 percent fewer domestic budget airline flights in the second week of March than in the same week a year earlier.

The number of low-cost flights to and from Britain fell by 5 percent.

No-frills airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet have revolutionized European air travel over the last five years, encouraging hundreds of thousands to take short holidays and weekend breaks in other European cities.

After the initial explosion the number of budget airlines in Britain contracted, with easyJet absorbing rival Go and Ryanair taking over low-cost carrier Buzz.

'The merger between easyJet and Go looks to account for some of these lower numbers,' said OAG marketing director Lynne Fraser. 'It will be interesting to see if this trend continues over the longer term or if it is a one-off anomaly.'

Overall, the number of flights on all airlines within Britain was up 1 percent in the second week of March, OAG said, while the number of international flights rose by 5 percent.

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