Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 9.5.
The Czech Republic: mode of transport for inbound travel, 1996-2004.
% share of
total inbound
I-IX
2004
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
Road
94.4
94.4
93.8
94.5
94.3
94.1
94.0
93.4
92.4
Rail
4.2
4.2
4.7
4.0
3.8
3.8
3.5
3.3
3.3
Air
1.4
1.4
1.4
1.4
1.8
2.1
2.5
3.3
4.3
Source:
Czech Statistical Office, 2005.
Table 9.6.
The Czech Republic: Prague Ruzyne Airport traffic statistics, 2000-2004.
Passenger numbers (in millions)
Aircraft movements
Cargo (in tonnes)
2000
5.6
94,117
30,283
2001
6.1
97,542
29,570
2002
6.3
103,904
39,590
2003
7.5
115,756
41,439
2004
9.6
144,962
46,884
Source:
Prague Airport, 2005.
and nine smaller international airports. The
Czech Airport Authority was established in 1990
to manage and operate the country's four key
international airports: Prague Ruzyne, Brno,
Ostrava and Karlovy Vary. As a pilot project for
private investment in state-run airport infra-
structure, from July 2002 Brno-Turany airport
was leased to a private corporation. Most of the
remaining airports are owned and operated by
local authorities.
While low-cost carriers today represent only
around 8% of total civil aviation in Europe
(ECAC member states), the figure is 35% in the
United Kingdom and up to 60% in Ireland,
largely the result of the consolidation of
Europe's two major low-cost airlines, Ryanair
(Ireland) and EasyJet (UK). The success of these
carriers stems from their North American-
inspired cost-efficient business model, often flying
just one type of aircraft (Welch, 2005), which
enables them to offer relatively low, but elastic
fares based on yield management principles
(Box 9.1). They have clearly opened new
(down-)market customer segments and, despite
a general increase in awareness of aviation's
contribution to climate change, low-cost airlines
appear to have stimulated further demand for
air travel, particularly in Europe (Binggeli and
Pompeo, 2002). A new and loyal customer
base has been created at secondary airports
(often former Soviet military bases), of which
there are many across Central and Eastern
Europe (Theunis, 2003).
One study estimated that 75% of the low-
cost market share represents new customers, 70%
of whom are leisure travellers: 20% are holiday-
makers, 25% are on city breaks, weekend trips or
visits to family/friends, and 25% are people trav-
elling to their second homes. These new travel-
lers generate additional tourism receipts in the
Role of budget airlines
The most notable development in air transport
is the growth of low-cost carriers to some 60 in
number in little over 10 years. Almost 45% of
the (then) EU population took a low-cost flight
in 2003 (Welch, 2005). This growth, reflecting
the EU's 'open skies' policy, has contributed to
considerable interest in the Czech Republic
from other EU member states.
Budget airlines' market share in European
passenger traffic almost quadrupled from 5% in
2000 to 19% in the first quarter of 2005. Having
to operate in a more sharply segmented customer
market will require the airlines to consistently
align their products, their network, their brand
image, and their price policies with target cus-
tomers in key market segments (Pollino, 2005).
