04.06.2003
Low cost airlines on the increase at Copenhagen Airport

Low cost airlines have scheduled 101 weekly departures during the summer, nearly twice as many as last year.

Last summer, 52 low cost flights took off from Copenhagen Airport each week. This year, the number is expected to be even higher, as the number of passengers choosing a low cost operator has doubled in two years. The increase is primarily attributable to Sterling’s introduction of low cost services to a large number of destinations in Southern Europe and to the introduction of SAS’s new low cost concept called Snowflake. During the summer period, Snowflake has 21 weekly departures.

Commenting on the trend, Trille Tang Dalsgaard, head of Airline Relations at Copenhagen Airports, says:
“We see a strong potential for low cost airlines, because they appeal to a different customer segment than traditional airlines do. They service passengers who have not previously considered travelling by plane because of the price, and this will naturally expand the market. The low cost airlines service destinations that can accommodate both traditional and low cost airlines. The current trend therefore seems set to continue with a significant increase in the number of low cost airlines and destinations in the years ahead.”

Facts on low cost traffic at Copenhagen Airport: Low cost traffic made up 3.6% of scheduled services in 2002 as compared with 2.2% in 2001. Low cost airlines and destinations: easyJet: London Stansted Iceland Express: Reykjavik Snowflake: Alicante, Pristina, Athens, Lisbon, Sarajevo, Bologna, Malaga, Palma Sterling: Alicante, Chania (Crete), Malaga, Palma, Bergamo (Milan), Nice, Oslo, Rome, Stockholm, Barcelona Virgin Express: Brussels

Additional information is available from Press Co-ordinator Camilla Kjærsgaard on tel. +45 3231 2806.

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