MANILA - As the global economic crisis took a toll on the aviation industry, airports worldwide should start adjusting to the demands of those that can provide them the most opportunities for growth: the budget or low-cost carriers (LCCs).

A recent study by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) showed that there has been an "enormous" delivery schedule of planes to LCCs worldwide over the next few years, suggesting "an ever more desperate search for new routes on which to fly these aircraft."

In the process of coming up with new routes for these planes, LCCs would incur costs for their use of airports and terminals. CAPA is saying that airports should make way for more LCCs to accommodate more revenues.

"Airports must therefore continue to adapt to the demands of the LCCs, allowing for their increasing propensity to change shape," CAPA said.

Countries like Singapore and Malaysia have separate terminals for LCCs. But according to CAPA, it is better for all kinds of airlines (legacy, low-cost, or regional) to have a "seamless interchange" in airports across the globe.

"No longer is the interface between legacy airline and LCC regarded as 'contamination.' It is clear that the 2 must co-exist and the low-cost terminal epitomized for example by early versions at Singapore and Kuala Lumpur may already be out of date," CAPA said.

What local airports can do

Here at home, airports can be more advantageous to LCCs if they can provide greater mobility to planes, according to Candice Iyog, vice president for marketing and product of Gokongwei-led airline Cebu Pacific.

Particularly, Iyog said airports can get rid of passenger tubes so planes can move freely on the runway, causing less delays to flights.

"It's all about greater mobility and accessibility for passengers and aircraft. We don't need lounges, tubes, things like that. Our requirements are pretty simple," Iyog told abs-cbnNEWS.com in a phone interview.

Iyog said it would be better if the country's airports are similar to LCC terminals in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. "But we're not asking for a separate terminal, we're okay with the current set-up," she said, adding that Philippine airports have always treated LCCs and legacy airlines equally.

The low-cost, no-frills airline strategy has been embraced by most carriers in the Philippines, including flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL). PAL has recently launched its budget arm PAL Express following the success of its low-cost rival, Cebu Pacific.

While PAL is looking at a bleak year ahead due to weak international demand, Cebu Pacific is expecting a profit rebound in 2009.

Cebu Pacific remains aggressive, and is now set to take delivery of 19 aircraft from this year until 2014. At present, the airline operates a total of 28 planes.

LCCs proved to be a hit even in a time of crisis in a third-world country such as the Philippines, where flying is considered a luxury. These carriers are able to make up for their cheaper fares as their planes were up in the air most of the day, translating to more revenues.