The Role of e-Commerce in the Success of Low-cost Carriers

Abstract

This research aims to answer the question if e-commerce favoured in a special way the growth of low-cost carriers within the civil aviation market. After defining low-cost and traditional carriers’ business models, data on transported passengers were collected for three countries (Italy, Germany and Spain) and confronted with the number of e-consumers. Despite a significant correlation in all the three markets, only in Italy our hypothesis has been supported by Granger causality, and the regression analysis allows to forecast a future characterized by a growing dominance of LCCs. Although the definition of an econometric model will require further studies, the distinctive features of the Italian market might represent a starting point for future research on the complex relationship between e-commerce and air transport.

Keywords

• e-commerce
• e-consumers
• low-cost carrier
• Ryanair
• Granger-causality
• L10
• L93
• C53
• C63