Les compagnies aériennes low-cost ont retrouvé, voire dépassé, leur niveau d’avant-crise EN-GB

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Low-cost airlines, which are driving an extremely sustained recovery in air traffic, have almost all regained, or even surpassed, their pre-crisis levels this summer, surfing on strong demand for leisure destinations in Europe.

The Irish Ryanair, the Spanish Volotea or the Hungarian Wizz Air are in good shape, at the end of summer 2022. The main low-cost airlines reached 91% of their 2019 levels, when traditional airlines are only at 79% according to data from Eurocontrol, the European sky watchdog. "Low-cost airlines are mainly focused on leisure flights to European cities, which have been in very high demand this summer," says Arnaud Aymé, a consultant at Sia Partners. "Very quickly, they were able to relaunch at full speed lines less constrained by health restrictions."

The Ryanair group, which also includes Buzz, Lauda and Malta Air, carried nearly 17 million passengers in July alone, almost as many as Air France since January. It shows an increase in the number of flights of 15% in the week from 11 to 17 August compared to the same dates in 2019, providing more than 3,000 flights daily. Wizz Air, a very low-cost and growing airline, has increased its offer by 20% over the same period. The only exception is the British company easyJet, which has not returned to its 2019 levels, at 86%, suffering more from the "weak recovery of business travel" which is part of its business, according to Mr. Aymé.

These low-cost airlines are widely valued for their unbeatable prices, despite a significant rise in fares this summer. In July, with the surge in kerosene prices and a strong increase in demand, ticket prices, all airlines combined, jumped 43.5% in France compared to July 2021, and even 54.5% on medium-haul flights from France to European destinations. On Ryanair's side, it has already been announced in early August that the era of airline tickets sold for 10 euros is well over.

"Most low-cost companies well equipped financially to weather the crisis"

But "the inevitable increase in their prices will not make them less profitable," says Marc Ivaldi, an air transport specialist at the Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales in Toulouse (EHESS). "These companies will in any case remain cheaper than conventional companies, which have also revised their rates upwards for the same reasons." Especially since the main low-cost companies have gone through the health crisis with less difficulty than their traditional competitors. "Most low-cost companies were well equipped financially to weather the crisis. They managed to gain new market share by taking over lines abandoned by traditional airlines and by continuing to invest in new aircraft, "says Arnaud Aymé, citing the example of Transavia France, a subsidiary of Air France, which expanded its fleet of aircraft and took over lines abandoned by the parent company.

The market share of low-cost in Europe reached 47,3% in 2022, compared to 41,5% in 2019, according to the CAPA design office, a record increase. These airlines have also been "relatively spared" by the many tensions that have arisen since the opening of the high summer season: several European airports have experienced malfunctions, between lack of staff and social movements, causing cancellations, delays or loss of baggage. Ryanair, Volotea, easyJet or Transavia France have certainly been affected by strikes by some of their teams demanding better working conditions and increases in their salaries.

But these have had a "marginal impact" on the activity of the companies, according to Arnaud Aymé. "On wage claims and working conditions, the unions of the low-cost companies have won the case," he analyses. Experts also believe that staff shortages should be less severe starting in early September, firstly because of the expected fall in traffic in the autumn, but also thanks to new recruitment bursts, such as those launched by Ryanair in the major European capitals or easyJet in France.