Indigo's Bill Franke sees US budget airline consolidation

Dublin

ONE of the most influential investors in low-cost airlines, Bill Franke, on Monday raised the prospect of consolidation among US budget carriers, echoing a shake-out among traditional network airlines.

"If you want to see how the international aviation landscape is going to evolve, just look to the United States, where consolidation has left just four major legacy carriers to compete with the low-cost airlines that serve the rest of the market," said Mr Franke, managing partner of Phoenix-based private equity firm Indigo Partners. "As an aside, don't we all wonder just how long it will take before the three to five lower-cost airlines in the States will consolidate?" he added in a speech at the Airline Economics conference in Dublin.