OREANDA-NEWS. August 23, 2013. CAPA's 2013 LCCs & New Age Airlines in North Asia Conference will be hosted by the Incheon International Airport Corporation at the Conrad Seoul hotel in Yeouido for 4 days from Sept. 3rd (Tue) and 6th (Fri), 2013.

Organized by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) located in Sydney, Australia, the LCCs & New Age Airlines in North Asia is the world's leading conference for the low cost carrier (LCC) industry. More than 300 delegates from 130 airlines, aviation-related organizations and media representing over 30 countries around the world will attend the event to have panel discussions and meetings for different issues.

The Incheon International Airport Corporation said that it made a strategic decision to host the conference to enhance the airline network and public awareness as the advent of low cost carriers has been creating a substantial paradigm shift in the airline industry.

Since the U.S. airline Southwest pioneered in the early 1970's as the first low cost carrier allowing people to fly at lower fares, LCCs have encroached on the traditional space of full-service carriers (FSCs) and grown strongly in the airline markets. In Europe, LCCs achieved nearly 40% market share, and Ireland's low-cost carrier Ryanair took the No. 1 spot in Europe in 2012 in terms of total passengers and has maintained high load factors and profits. The U.S. airline Southwest also cemented its place as America's and the world's second largest airline in 2012.

In the Asian region, 55 LCCs are currently operating with 24% of the market share. The market share of LCCs has already reached 60% in Southeast Asia, and their market share in Northeast Asia, which is currently low with 9%, is expected to grow rapidly in the near future.

In Korea, the domestic market share of LCCs in the first half of this year jumped to 47.8% only in 8 years since Hansung Airlines debuted in 2005. In the Incheon Airport, their market share, which was only 1.3% in 2009, went up to 12% in the first half of 2013. The share in the Incheon Airport is expected to grow to 20% by 2017 and at least 30% by 2023.

At this juncture, the Incheon International Airport Corporation's decision to host the CAPA LCCs & New Age Airlines in North Asia 2013 for the first time in the country has great significance as part of a strategy to lead vitalization of the LCC industry and attract LCCs to create a shift in the future market demand.

About 40 CEOs from LCCs at home and abroad including AirAsia, Jetstar, Spring Airlines, Jeju Air and other aviation and travel-related organizations will participate as panelists to have in-depth discussions about the current LCC market issues and the future growth potential.

"We will continue our efforts to attract more low cost carriers and to expand our airline network by drastically improving the airport capacity with the construction of Incheon Airport's Terminal 2. We expect that hosting the LCCs & New Age Airlines in North Asia for the first time in this country will be a turning point in laying a solid foundation for future growth of the airline market,” said Chang-Soo Jung, president & CEO of Incheon International Airport Corporation.

With a growing GDP and population, expansion of open skies and airline deregulation in the Asian region, more new LCCs are expected to join the LCC market driving the surge in the demand. The Incheon International Airport Corporation is set to secure the leading position in the rapidly growing LCC market and heavily promote the advantages of its airport as a hub in order to attract competitive low cost carriers at this conference.

Leveraging the network competitiveness and excellent services of the full-service carriers such as Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, it hopes to create more demand in premium travel while enhancing the growth potential as a hub by increasing the demand for LCCs and soliciting mid-to long-term transfers to create a foundation, thereby gaining an advantage over its adjacent competitors such as the Narita, Beijing, and Hong Kong airports.