Consumers traveling via Oakland, Chicago/Midway, Ft. Lauderdale, Las Vegas and Orlando experienced the lowest true cost of air travel in the first quarter of 2018, according to a new Research Report from Boyd Group International.
Ticket Prices Are Not Comparable Between Airports. The Research analyzed traffic at the top 50 US airports based on adjusted length of average passenger trip, providing a more accurate view of what consumers are really spending on air fares.
The Southwest Effect Is Still Real. Rounding out the rest of the low ten are San Jose, Dallas/Love, Denver, Baltimore/Washington, and Tampa. All have a significant Southwest Airlines presence.
Southwest also tends to have lower ancillary fees, which are not reflected in reported fare data. This means that the comparative cost of travel at these airports is even lower than indicated.
Ultra Low Cost Carriers To Expand Materially. The Report indicates that the four airlines pursuing fare-stimulated traffic via a no-frills “ultra-low cost” (ULCC) model - Frontier, Allegiant, Sun Country and Spirit - now represent almost 7 percent of seat capacity. Based on fleet growth, this will expand to over 12 percent in the next 18 months.
The “Islip Dynamic” – The ULCC Enplanement Rollercoaster. Airports need to understand that the ULCC model is based on rapid consumer and revenue response. The Report cautions that these carriers are highly flexible and focus on using fares to stimulate net-new travel, instead of capturing existing local demand. When such traffic does not materialize quickly, the carrier will pull down service rapidly. On the other hand, if traffic does spike, the ULCC will likely add more service.
The experience at Islip, New York is an example where traffic is now returning to core-demand levels, as a ULCC carrier reduces service in response to insufficient traffic stimulation.
