– Until November they transported 34 million passengers, 57.2% of the total influx.
– In traditional companies 25.5 million passengers travelled, a 7.5% more.
– The Spanish airports most used by the low cost airlines were Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona-El Prat and Malaga-Costa del Sol airport.
If they were already working well through good times, the low cost airlines seem to be working even better in times of crisis. There’s definitely no lack of clients.
The result is that the low cost airlines transported 34.19 million passengers over the first eleven months of the year, a 12.8% increase compared to the same period in 2010, as opposed to the traditional companies that transferred 25.5 million travellers, 7.5% more.
According to statistics from the Industry, Tourism and Trade Ministry, produced by the Institute of Tourism Studies, the low cost companies took up more than half of the air traffic until October, 57.2%, as opposed to the traditional companies that transported 42.8% of the travellers.
As for markets, UK and Germany lead the entrances in low cost companies, with 36.4% and 20.1% of the passengers that chose this way, respectively, with increases of 9.3% for the British market (12.4 million travellers) and increases of 5.9% for the German market (6.8 million passengers).
Italy, the third issuer, increased the arrivals by 16.1% with 3.6 million travellers, the equivalent of 10.6% of the total entrances this way. It was then followed by France, with 5.4% of the total and 1.8 million travellers, 27,8% more than a year ago.
Palma de Mallorca, the first airport
The rest of the countries presented generalised increases, all of two digits -except Ireland (+6.5%)-, in the number of low cost passengers emitted towards Spain. Amongst the countries worth mentioning are: Holland (+25.8%), Romania (26.6%), Portugal (+24.2%) and Norway (+19.8%).
So far this year, the Spanish airports that were most used by the low cost airlines were: Palma de Mallorca, with 6 million passengers, meaning an increase of 11.8%; Barcelona-El Prat, with 4.9 million passengers, 36.7% more; Malaga-Costa del Sol, with 3.8 million passengers, 7.1% more; Madrid-Barajas, with 3.44 million, 12.9% more; and Alicante, with 3.4 million, 7.9% more.
In order of autonomous regions, the Balearic Islands are top of the list, with 22.5% of the entrances and 7.7 million passengers, with an increase of 11.7%. Followed then by Catalonia with 19.7%, up to 6.7 million travellers (+11.9%); Canary Islands, with 5.6 million travellers (+24.2%) and Andalusia, with 4.7 million passengers (+8.7%).
