CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY has published its second report into the low-cost scheduled airlines which have revolutionised short-haul air travel in recent times, particularly in the UK and Western Europe. The report says rapid growth of budget scheduled carriers in Europe is in sharp contrast to the charter airlines who have seen traffic stagnate or even decline. As the no-frills sector matures, however, a potential over-supply of airline seats means that some no-frills airlines will struggle to survive. This is according to a new research report published by Cranfield University's Air Transport Group. The report highlights the differences between the business models of the two most successful European no-frills airlines; easyJet and Ryanair. It analyses the economic performance of over 20 of Europe's charter and no-frills scheduled operators, benchmarking these against low-cost carriers in the USA. It also describes how the European charter and no-frills markets have evolved since Cranfield's first study, published in January 2000. According to Cranfield 40% of passengers travelling within the UK and between the UK and European Economic Area countries now use budget scheduled airlines. In all, there are now some 500 routes in Europe served by 20 no-frills carriers. Details from [email protected]