Low-Cost Airlines: A Failed Business Model?

Abstract

Abstract The article examines the sustainability of the low-cost, or no-frills, airline business model. It looks at the background to the development of this managerial approach within the context of some prevailing business theories and considers variations on the basic low-cost airline model. It assesses, drawing from the experiences of a number of markets, whether the model in itself is likely to be enduring, or whether it is simply a transient way for some airlines to recover their full costs.