Impact of low-cost carriers on the european air transport market

The European air transport market has been recently swamped by the low-cost airlines. Currently there are 50 such airlines operating in Europe and their number is increasing daily. The share of low-cost airlines is expected to rise by the end of 2006 to more than 30 per cent among air carriers. The cheapest fares on the flights advertised by low-cost airlines (LCA) are sold out months in advance, and this gives rise to a justified question whether the cheap air tickets so alluringly offered to passengers on the internet pages are merely a marketing ploy and what are the real benefits of travelling by low-cost airlines. This paper will analyze the positive and negative impacts of low cost carrier operations on Croatian air traffic.