Moving deckchairs on the Titanic - if you're a tour operator

John Grant of Airport Strategy and Marketing lays down a gloomy perspective to the tour operators in the industry in the opening session.

LCCs have stolen an advantage over the charter airlines simply by wooing airports with their brash, “teenage”, lucrative (in terms of how much revenue they pass on) ways.

But their ability to attract funding from regional development authorities has put pressure on existing charter airlines wedded to traditional locations.

The LCCs – such as easyJet, Ryanair, WhizzAir and Jet2 – are wielding an enormous amount of power by having an influential relationship with airports in order to create new routes and products.

Tour operators do not have this level of influence.

It is the LCCs that are driving innovation in terms of product differentiation, rather than tour operators and charter airlines.

For too many years the power has been with the LCCs, acting as “bullies” to the airports, but “tour operators have a real role to play in the market which will be welcomed by airports around the world”.

Nice upbeat start to the conference, then.