ABSTRACT
The growth of low-cost carriers (LCCs) is currently focused on the Western European market, where they represent the most deter-mining factor in the evolution of airline networks. In this area, they stand for 18% of the total air transport supply according to seats. Limited to short and medium haul flights, networks are not too concentrated (no hubs). They are North-South, and compete with— when they have not replaced—some charter routes. The use of air freedoms beyond the fourth is still limited, but exclusive routes are a frequent phenomenon linked to the option for secondary (urban or regional) airports and/or niches.
Finally, low-cost carriers give fresh impetus to point-to-point routes by drawing new networks complementing those of full service net¬work carriers (FSNCs). If no hubs as such can be found in these new networks, significant concentrations characterize the major bases.
The geography of low-cost networks is to a large extent the geography of EU air transport liberalization.
