Low cost carrier revolution transforms Portugal

Europe's low cost carriers (LCCs) have consistently increased their presence in the Portuguese international air travel market during the last eight years, from a capacity share of just 2% in Jul-2001 to a peak of 35% in Jul-2008, since when their market share fell back slightly to 33%. This is broadly in line with the growth in LCC capacity market share within Europe in the same period. LCC domestic share trundled along at virtually zero until last year. Since then it has grown very quickly, but from such a small base that even now it counts for only 4.3% of the total. One reason appears to be that Portugal still has nothing to offer in terms of LCCs of its own.