LCCs grab 10% of seats in the Middle East, but growth is slowing

The LCC phenomenon in the Middle East is entering the home stretch of its first decade. The importance of the LCC market in the Middle East has grown steadily since the launch of the region's first LCC flights by Air Arabia in Oct-2003, but the growth has not been as high as initially anticipated, as carriers can attest to.

Just four airlines make up the regional LCC market - Air Arabia, flydubai, Jazeera Airways and NAS Air. Air Arabia also has two subsidiary carriers - Air Arabia Maroc, launched in 2007, and Air Arabia Egypt, launched in 2010. A third, based in Jordan, has been on hold for several years.

There are also some smaller carriers in the region that are filling the gap between LCCs and full service airlines. Bahrain Air markets itself as a "premium value" carrier, including some LCC elements in its model but also offering two seating classes - including an all-new business class cabin - and a correspondingly greater emphasis on service and product levels. RAK Airways, based in the UAE emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, also has low cost elements, but like Bahrain Air has adopted a hybrid model between full service and low-cost airlines.