Blog 52: A Brief History of the Aviation Industry: Low-Cost Carriers Explained
Hi, and welcome back to Brooke In The Air!
We'll be resuming vlogs this weekend, but for the blog this week, we'll be continuing our series on the Aviation Industry, and focusing on low-cost carriers! This once-uniquely American phenomenon has subsequently spread to other parts of the globe, indeed, Australia, Europe, Asia, Southeast Asia, all have their own geographically centered low-cost carriers. Southeast Asia has airline brands like Scoot (owned wholly by Singapore Airlines) and Lion Air, while Japan’s low-cost arena is dominated by LCCs such as Peach Airlines and AirAsia.
There's a saying. “why fly first class when you have no class.” this is a joke but low-cost carriers tend to embody this saying. Often to the extreme definition.
Europe has Irish branded and owned Ryanair, plus EasyJet, Level, and German (Lufthansa)-owned EuroWings (formerly GermanWings), among numerous others, plus Spain’s Vueling; Australia’s low-cost market is dominated by Qantas-owned JetStar, and Qantas Express. While in Latin America, GOL has the market share, yet in the United States low-cost carriers have truly found a home and flourished with branded airlines like Spirit, JetBlue (for a time), Allegiant, Sun Country (a US carrier now owned by Canadian airline WestJet), and of course, Southwest Airlines.
Southwest is the low-cost carrier embodied by the United States, and the largest LCC in the world. Only one type of aircraft is used in their fleet, the Boeing 737 (usually -800, and MAX 8 sub-types). The 737-800 is shown here.
These are usually airlines that appear low-cost at first but nickel-and-dime you in your wallet for every available service or amenity that are typically free on legacy or flag or mainline carriers.
THE BASICS
Singapore Airlines’ owned Scoot Airlines, one of few low-cost carriers to operate specialized 787 Dreamliner widebodies in addition to Spain’s Vueling
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as no-frills, budget or discount carrier or airline, and abbreviated as LCC) is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing operating costs and without some of the traditional services and amenities provided in the fare, resulting in lower fares and fewer comforts. To make up for revenue lost in decreased ticket prices, the airline may charge extra fees – such as for carry-on baggage. All LCCs functionally operate on the same basic principles as previously outlined above.
As of May 2023, the world's largest low-cost carrier is US-based Southwest Airlines, which operates primarily in the continental United States, as well as in some surrounding areas and has perfected low-cost travel with their operation of only one type of aircraft, the Boeing 737.
The term “LCC” itself originated within the airline industry to refer to airlines with a lower operating cost structure than their competitors. While the term is often applied to any carrier with low ticket prices and limited services, regardless of their operating models, low-cost carriers should not be confused with regional airlines that operate short flights without service, or with full-service airlines offering some reduced fares.
Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 at Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport (formerly McCarran International Airport)
Some airlines advertise themselves as low-cost while maintaining products usually associated with traditional mainline carriers’ services. These products include preferred or assigned seating, catering, differentiated premium cabins, satellite or ground-based Wi-Fi internet, and in-flight audio and video entertainment.
More recently, the term "ultra low-cost carrier" (ULCC) has been used, particularly in North America and Europe to refer to carriers that do not provide these services and amenities at all, truly no frills.
BUSINESS MODEL
The low-cost carrier business model practices can vary widely. Some practices are more common in certain regions, while others are generally universal. The common theme among all low-cost carriers is the reduction of cost and reduced overall fares compared to legacy carriers.
COMMONALITIES
Most low-cost carriers operate aircraft configured with a single passenger class, and most operate just a single aircraft type, so cabin and ground crew will only have to be trained to work on one type of aircraft, however some low-cost carriers choose to operate more than one type and configure their aircraft with more than one passenger class. This is also beneficial from a maintenance standpoint as spare parts and mechanics will only be dedicated to one type of aircraft. These airlines tend to operate short-haul flights that suit the range of single-aisle, narrow-body planes. As of lately, however, there is also a rise in demand for long range low-cost flights and the availability of next generation planes that make long haul routes more feasible for LCCs.
Allegiant Air MD-83 based off the DC-9, taking off from Reno-Tahoe International Airport
In the past, low-cost carriers tended to operate older aircraft purchased second-hand, such as the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and older models of the Boeing 737. Since 2000, fleets generally consist of the newest aircraft, commonly the Airbus A320 family and Boeing 737 family especially now the 737 MAX.
Although buying new aircraft is usually more expensive than second-hand, new planes are cheaper to operate in the long run since they are extremely efficient in terms of fuel, training, maintenance, and crew costs per passenger (CCPP).
In 2013, business analysis firm ch-aviation published a study about the fleet strategy of low-cost carriers. They summarized that major LCCs that order aircraft in large numbers get large discounts for doing so, and due to this they can sell their aircraft just a few years after delivery at a price high enough to keep their operating costs relatively low. A great resale strategy actually.
Aircraft often operate with a minimum set of optional equipment, further reducing costs of acquisition, maintenance and overhead, as well as keeping the weight of the aircraft lower and thus saving fuel. For example, Ryanair seats do not recline and do not have rear pockets, in order to reduce cleaning and maintenance costs. Others have no window shades. Pilot conveniences, such as ACARS, may be excluded and deemed “nonessential” to flight. Often, no in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems are made available, though many US low-cost carriers do offer satellite television or radio in-flight.
It is, however, becoming a popular approach to install LCD monitors onto the aircraft and broadcast advertisements on them (to gain more net profit), coupled with the traditional route–altitude–speed information, which if you ask me, is more exciting than most in flight entertainment (IFE) options regardless. Most do not offer reserved seating, hoping to encourage passengers to board early and quickly, thus decreasing turnaround times. Some carriers allow priority boarding for an extra fee instead of reserved seating, and some allow reserving a seat in an emergency exit row (for longer leg room) at an extra cost, as I said they will charge you for everything.
BASES VS HUBS
Like the major carriers, many low-cost carriers develop one or more bases to maximize destination coverage and defend their market. Many do not operate traditional hubs, but rather focus cities.
ORCHESTRATION
Airlines often offer a simpler fare scheme, such as charging one-way tickets half that of round-trips. Typically, fares increase as the plane fills up, which rewards early reservations. In Europe (and early in Southwest's history) luggage is not transferred from one flight to another, even if both flights are with the same airline. This saves costs and is thought to encourage passengers to take direct flights. Tickets are not sold with transfers, so the airline can avoid personal most importantly financial responsibility for passengers' connections in the event of a delay. Low-cost carriers often have a sparse schedule with one flight per day and route, so it would be hard to find an alternative for a missed connection.
Modern US-based low-cost carriers (US-LCC) generally transfer baggage for continuing flights, as well as transferring baggage to other airlines. Many airlines opt (or prefer) to have passengers board via air-stairs, since traditional jetways generally cost more to lease from airports.
Quite often, low-cost carriers fly to smaller, less congested secondary airports and/or fly to airports during off-peak hours to avoid air traffic delays and take advantage of lower landing fees. This is why Ryanair flies to Gatwick Airport, Luton Airport, and Stansted Airport in the London area and how EasyJet is able to fly to Paris-Charles de Gaulle, and Amsterdam Airport-Schiphol.
In London's case however, low-cost carriers would not be able to use Heathrow anyway as the airport is running at near capacity, so there is no room to build a base. The airlines tend to offload, service and re-load the aircraft (turnaround) in shorter time periods and do not wait for late passengers, allowing maximum utilization of their aircraft. Essentially, much like a bus service.
Spirit Airlines A321neo coming in for landing, Spirit is the American embodiment of the ULCC - the Ultra Low-Cost Carrier
Low-cost carriers generate ancillary revenue from a variety of activities, such as à la carte features and commission-based products. Some airlines may charge a fee for a pillow or blanket or for carry-on baggage. In Europe, it is common for each and every convenience and service to have an additional charge. AirAsia, for example, generates revenue by courier services and hotels as well as flights. Low-cost carriers intend to be, well, low-cost, so in many cases employees work multiple roles. At some airlines flight attendants also work as gate agents or assume other roles, thereby limiting personnel costs. Southwest Airlines, for example, is well known for using fuel-hedging (hoarding) programs to reduce its overall fuel costs. Online check-in is becoming common as opposed to gate check-in, again in the interest of avoiding personnel costs.
These carriers will skirt the law ay every opportunity. Where permissible, some airlines have a disinclination to handle Special Service passengers, for instance, by placing a higher age limit on unaccompanied minors (normally ages 2-15) than full-service carriers. Often these airlines do not offer connecting tickets, since the airline will have to pay for ground crew to transfer luggage. A customer may create a connection manually by purchasing two separate tickets, but these are considered separate contracts, and the passenger bears the entire risk if a delayed inbound flight causes a missed connection.
When most countries had national monopolies, crews could negotiate pay raises and good pension benefits (something that costs money for the airlines only in the long-term). During this period, most passengers were business travelers who paid high fares that covered these costs.
After mass deregulation of the industry, which led to lower fares, many airlines remained bound to these salary agreements and pensions, whereas new low-cost carriers employed new staff with lower salaries, especially for cabin crew, keeping personnel costs low and allowing for competitive fares. In some cases airlines have gone bankrupt, and new airlines replaced them.
Traditional (flag) carriers followed the low-cost carriers by enabling web check-in, encouraging automated check-in at the airport, and generally reducing ground personnel cost. Ryanair is unique because it primarily operates at secondary airports without any competition, so it can easily negotiate large cost reductions and deals with the airport owners.
The number of crew members follow international conventions that require one flight attendant per 50 passenger seats and two pilots. No carrier can save money by reducing flight crew, but they can reduce ground crew and many have done so.
Carriers like Ireland-based ULCC, Ryanair hire pilots through third-party agencies based in low-tax countries without benefits for sick pay, pensions or health insurance. Traditional carriers have also started to try this, including starting their own low-tax agencies, such as Scoot, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. These agencies can easily find less experienced co-pilots and cabin crew, as the profession is popular, but there are problems for low-cost carriers (LCCs) to recruit and keep captains who have to be experienced.
PRINCIPLES
At IATA, the governing body, an LCC and ULCC operation is defined as including the following characteristics, at least to some significant degree:
Primarily point-to-point operations
Short-haul routes, often between regional or secondary airports
Strong focus on price-sensitive traffic, mostly leisure passengers
Typically a single service class, with no (or limited) customer loyalty programs (no business class, no first class, no or limited partner lounge access, no lounges of their own)
Limited passenger services, with additional charges for some services (e.g., on-board catering)
Low average fares, with a strong focus on price competition
Different fares offered, related to aircraft load factors and length of time before departure
A very high proportion of bookings made through the Internet
Very high aircraft utilization rates, with short turnaround between operations, perhaps 30 minutes or less.
Private-sector companies, outsourcing is common.
A simple management and overhead structure with a lean strategic decision-making process
While low-cost airlines differ in service offerings, by definition they feature most of the following:
Standardized fleet (lower crew and pilot training, maintenance costs; purchasing aircraft in bulk to earn significant discounts)
Absent of non-essential features (reclining seats, frequent flyer schemes)
Use of secondary airports for lower landing fees and marketing support
Avoidance of airports with high costs such as primary or major airports.
Rapid turnaround (less time on the ground, more flights per day)
Fly less convenient times of the day, which price sensitive tourists accept (while business travelers want to fly at times suiting their schedule, forming a further class divide)
Online ticket sales to avoid the cost of call centers or human agents
Online check-in (fewer check-in desks), plus a moderate charge for traditional desk check-in
Baggage charges for checked bags to offset baggage handling and loading costs
Passenger loading via mobile air-stairs rather than traditional jetways
Use staff for multiple jobs (cabin crew also check tickets at the gate, clean aircraft)
Hedge fuel costs (buying fuel in advance when cheaper)
Charge for all services (including on-board services, reserved seating, and extra baggage) plus limited amenities
Do not use reserved seating (which slows down boarding), or charge extra for reserved seating or early boarding.
Fly point-to-point (passenger transfers to other flights are not accommodated, no compensation for missed connections, passengers fly at their own risk)
Carry little extra fuel thereby reducing aircraft weight
Outfit plane with cost-cutting modifications, such as winglets.
Route planning before aircraft arrives at airport (saving time on the ground)
Market destination services such as hotels and rental cars for commissions
INNOVATION & DIFFERENTIATION
Some airlines resort to very innovative practices. Many airlines these days work with aircraft manufacturers, but airlines such as AirAsia go a step further, working with airports to develop specially designed low-cost terminals that require far less overhead. Lower costs are passed on to the airline, and in turn to the customer.
For example, Ryanair generally makes the airports accept their boarding passes which passengers print themselves, although at some airports (where Ryanair is not dominant) passengers have to replace their self-printed boarding pass with a normal boarding pass from the airport. Other practices that reduce expenses are the use of UAVs for aircraft checkups, tablet PCs instead of logs on paper (reduces airplane weight), and smartglasses for the pilot as opposed to an actual HUD.
Not every low-cost carrier implements all of the above points. For example, some try to differentiate themselves with allocated seating, while others operate more than one aircraft type, still others have relatively high operating costs but lower fares. JetBlue, for instance, has in-flight entertainment in every passenger seat. Other airlines are limited on what points they can implement based on local laws.
For a further example, Ryanair cannot remove window blinds from its aircraft, as they are required by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA). As supply increases, this sort of differentiation by brand is an important criteria for the future success of low-cost carriers, since many experts believe price competition alone is not enough, given the number of carriers. It should be noted however that JetBlue is not a true low-cost carrier any longer with the advent of their transatlantic Mint Suite on A321XLR aircraft.
As the number of low-cost carriers has grown, these airlines have begun to compete with one another in addition to the traditional carriers. Though, most traditional, mainline, flag carriers were under little threat from these carriers as markets were, and are vastly different. In the US, airlines have responded by introducing variations to the model.
To elaborate, JetBlue advertises satellite television. Advertiser-supported Skybus Airlines launched from Columbus, Ohio in 2007, but ceased operations in April of 2008. In Europe, the emphasis has remained on reducing costs and no-frills service. In 2004, Ryanair announced proposals to eliminate reclining seats, window blinds, seat headrest covers, and seat pockets from its aircraft.
ULCC - ULTRA LOW-COST CARRIER
Ryanair seatback with integrated safety flyer and no tray-table
A secondary term "ultra low-cost carrier" (ULCC) has been used to differentiate some low-cost airlines whose model deviates further (cuts more services) from that of a standard low-cost carrier, with ultra low-cost carriers having minimal inclusions in the fare and a greater number of add-on fees.
In the US market, Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air have been most commonly referred to as Ultra Low-Cost carriers, with Frontier Airlines repositioning as ultra low-cost in 2015.
Sun Country Airlines began transitioning to an ultra low-cost carrier model in 2017.
In Europe, Ryanair and Wizz Air are the most prominent ULCCs.
In Canada, Lynx Air launched service very recently in 2022, whereas, Swoop is an ultra low-cost carrier owned by WestJet.
PRICING POLICIES
The pricing policy of the low-cost carriers is usually very dynamic, with discounts and tickets in promotion. Like other carriers, even if the advertised price may be very low, it often does not include charges and taxes. With some airlines, some flights are advertised as free (plus applicable taxes, fees and charges). Depending on the airline, perhaps as many (or as few) as ten percent of the seats on any flight are offered at the lowest price and are the first to sell. The prices steadily rise thereafter to a point where they can be comparable or more expensive than a flight on a full-service carrier.
Most airlines charge additional taxes and fees on their tickets. Some low-cost airlines have been known to charge fees for the seemingly ridiculous, such as levying a credit card charge if credit card is the only payment method accepted. It gets more ridiculous as you go on.
A BRIEF HISTORY
While tour and package operators have offered lower-priced, lower-frilled traveling for a large part of modern airline history, not until during the post–Vietnam War era did this business model escalate. Through various ticket consolidators, charter airlines, and innovators in lower-frills flying, such as Channel Airways and Court Line, the traveling public had been conditioned to want to travel to new and increasingly further away and exotic locations on vacation, rather than short-haul trips to nearby beach resorts.
The world's first low-cost airline was Pacific Southwest Airlines, which started intrastate flights connecting Southern and Northern California on 6 May 1949. PSA's light-hearted atmosphere and efficient operations were a runaway success early on, and inspired a number of low-cost start-ups across the United States, beginning in the mid-1960s.
Celebrated founder Herb Kelleher studied the success of PSA, and copied their culture closely when he established very well-known Southwest Airlines in 1971.
Vueling A321 in “graffiti livery” at Madrid-Barajas Airport
The first airline to offer cheaper transatlantic fares was Icelandic airline Loftleiðir in 1964, often referred to as "the Hippie Airline". Many young Americans travelled to Europe after graduation, to experience the "old-world culture", and they were more concerned with getting there cheaply than comfortably or even exactly on time. Loftleiðir were not famous for speed or punctuality, but flying with the company became a sort of rite of passage for those young "hippies", one of whom was Bill Clinton, later Arkansas governor and two-term US President during the 1990s.
The first airline offering no-frills transatlantic service was Freddie Laker's Laker Airways, which operated its famous "Skytrain" service between London and New York City during the late 1970s. The service was suspended after Laker's competitors, British Airways and Pan Am, were able to successfully price Skytrain out of the market.
In the United States, airline carriers such as Midway Airlines and America West Airlines, which commenced operations after 1978, soon realized a cost of available seat mile (CASM) advantage in relation to the traditional and established, legacy flag airlines such as Trans World Airlines (TWA) and American Airlines. Often this CASM advantage has been attributed solely to the lower labor costs of the newly hired and lower pay grade workers of new start-up carriers, such as ValuJet, Midway Airlines, and their like. However, these lower costs can also be attributed to the less complex aircraft fleets and route networks with which these new carriers began operations, in addition to their reduced labor costs.
Ryanair (airborne) A220, and Wizzair A320 at London-Stansted Airport
To combat the new round of low-cost and start-up entrants into the very competitive and deregulated United States airline industry, the mainline major carriers and network legacy carriers strategically developed no-frills divisions within the main airlines brand and corporate structures. Among these were Continental Lite, Delta Express (now known as Delta Connection), MetroJet, Shuttle by United (predecessor to United Express), the short-lived Song, and Ted. However, most of these "airlines within an airline" were short-lived and quickly disposed-of when economic rationalization or competitive pressures subsided.
Several regional divisions of major carriers still exist, such as United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle in the US, and Air Canada Express in Canada.
Among these varieties of low-cost and discount operators were noteworthy start-ups that managed to get off the ground by using the larger aircraft services of established charter airlines. Among this group were the virtual airlines; Direct Air, PeoplExpress, Western, and those that never began service such as JetAmerica. None of these airlines exist today but their innovations are crucial to the growth and development of the aviation industry as a whole.
EXPANSION OF THE SUB-INDUSTRY
In Japan, low-cost airlines made major inroads into the market in 2012 when Peach, Jetstar Japan and AirAsia Japan began operations, each with financial sponsorship by a domestic legacy airline and one or more foreign investors. By mid-2013, these new LCCs were operating at a unit cost of around 8 yen per seat-kilometer, compared to 10–11 yen per seat-kilometer for domestic legacy airlines. However, their unit cost was still much higher than the three-yen-per-seat-kilometer for AirAsia in Malaysia, due to the higher cost of landing fees and personnel in Japan.
MARKET SHARE
By early 2019 there were more than 100 LCCs operating 6,000 aircraft collectively, doubled from 2,900 aircraft at the end of 2009, while seat capacity reached nearly 1.7 billion in 2018. LCCs accounted for 33% of intra-regional seat capacity in 2018 with 1.564 billion, up from 25% in 2008 with 753 million, and 13% of seat capacity between regions with 101 million, up from 6% in 2009 with 26 million. In 2018, penetration rate was 41% of seats within Europe, 36% within Latin America, 32% within North America, 29% within Asia Pacific, 17% within the Middle East and 12% within Africa.
For the European Commission, the LCCs market share (44.8%) exceeded legacy carriers (42.4%) in 2012: between 2002 and 2017, LCC share of international seat capacity rose from 23% to 57% in the UK, from 10% to 55% in Italy and from 9% to 56% in Spain but have still room for growth in domestic seat-capacity in France with 19% and in Germany with 25% in 2017, compared with 66% in the UK, 48% in Spain and 47% in Italy.
LOW-COST LONG-HAUL? FUTURE EXPANSION OF ECONOMY CLASS SARDINE TRAVEL
A long-haul low-cost operation would be harder to differentiate from a conventional airline as there are few cost savings possibilities, while the seat costs would have to be lower than the competition. Long-haul aircraft scheduling is often determined by time zone constraints, like leaving the US East Coast in the evening and arriving in Europe the following morning, and the longer flight times mean there is less scope to increase aircraft utilization as in short-haul. Yet this is what Airbus conceived the A321XLR as being made for, so time will tell.
In March 2017, International Airlines Group (IAG, a union group of a miniature alliance and an aircraft lessor led by a corporate merger of Iberia Airways and British Airways, without merging their airlines) established Level, a long-haul low-cost virtual airline based in Barcelona Airport and serving destinations in North and South America.
Long-haul low-cost carriers are emerging on the transatlantic flights market with 545,000 seats offered over 60 city pairs in September 2017 (a 66% growth over one year), compared to 652,000 seats over 96 pairs for Leisure airlines and 8,798,000 seats over 357 pairs for mainline carriers.
For context, a Virtual Airline is simply an LCC which has outsourced as many positions to third party contractors and crew as it possibly can and employs almost .01% of its workforce directly.
Ex-American Airlines CEO Bob Crandall thinks the legacy carriers will force Long-haul LCCS to lose too much money and will continue to dominate.
BUSINESS ONLY LOW-COST CARRIERS
A trend from the mid-2000s was the formation of new low-cost carriers exclusively targeting the long-haul business market. Aircraft are generally configured for a single class of service, initially on transatlantic routings.
Eos Airlines, which ceased operating on 27 April 2008
MAXjet, which ceased its scheduled business flights in December 2007 and was unable to transition to charter as planned.
Silverjet, which ceased operations on 30 May 2008.
La Compagnie (CURRENTLY operating) based only in Paris-Orly Airport in France, and traveling to Milan, Italy and Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey, USA
This is a niche however, served exclusively by boutique airlines.
OFFICIAL CRITICISM
Some elements of the low-cost model have been subject to criticism by governments and regulators; and in the UK in particular, the issue of "unbundling" of ancillary charges by both low-cost carriers and other airlines (showing airport fees or taxes as separate charges rather than as part of the advertised fare) to make the "headline fare" appear lower has resulted in enforcement action. Considering that this amounts to a misleading approach to pricing, the United Kingdom's Office of Fair Trading (UK-OFT) in February of 2007 gave all carriers and travel companies three months to include all fixed non-optional costs in their basic advertised prices.
Although the full-service carriers had complied within the specified timescales, the low-cost carriers have been less compliant in this respect, leading to the prospect of legal action by the OFT. Are we surprised?
Lion Air (Indonesia) Boeing 737-900ER, a rare variant of the 737. In front of an AirAsia A320neo, seen taxiing in the background.
Here is a list of known currently active low-cost carriers, divided by continent.
AFRICA
Egypt
Air Arabia Egypt
Air Cairo
FlyEgypt
Kenya
Jambojet
Fly540
Morocco
Air Arabia Maroc
Nigeria
Green Africa Airways
South Africa
FlySafair
Fastjet
Zimbabwe
Fastjet Zimbabwe
AMERICAS
Argentina
Flybondi
JetSmart Argentina
Brazil
Azul Brazilian Airlines
Gol Transportes Aéreos
Canada
Flair Airlines
Canada Jetlines
Lynx Air
Sunwing Airlines[3]
Swoop
Chile
Sky Airline
JetSmart
Colombia
Avianca
Wingo
Ultra Air
Costa Rica
Volaris Costa Rica
Guadeloupe
Air Caraïbes
Dominican Republic
AraJet
RED Air
El Salvador
Volaris El Salvador
Honduras
EasySky
Mexico
Calafia Airlines
VivaAerobús
Volaris
Peru
JetSmart Perú
Sky Airline Peru
Turks and Caicos
InterCaribbean Airways
United States
Allegiant Air
Avelo Airlines
Breeze Airways
Frontier Airlines
JetBlue
Northern Pacific Airways
Southwest Airlines
Spirit Airlines
Sun Country Airlines
ASIA
Armenia
Fly Arna
FlyOne Armenia
Azerbaijan
Buta Airways
Cambodia
AirAsia Cambodia
China
9 Air
Beijing Capital Airlines
Chengdu Airlines
Colorful Guizhou Airlines
China United Airlines
Jiangxi Air
Lucky Air
Ruili Airlines
Spring Airlines
Urumqi Air
West Air
Hong Kong
Greater Bay Airlines
HK Express
India
Air India Express
AIX Connect
Akasa Air
Go First
IndiGo
SpiceJet
Indonesia
Citilink
Indonesia AirAsia
Lion Air
Super Air Jet
TransNusa
Wings Air
Japan
Jetstar Japan
Peach Aviation
Skymark Airlines
Spring Airlines Japan
Zipair Tokyo
Kazakhstan
FlyArystan
Kyrgyzstan
Air Manas
Kuwait
Jazeera Airways
Malaysia
AirAsia
AirAsia X
Firefly
MYAirline
Oman
Salam Air
Pakistan
Airblue
Fly Jinnah
Serene Air
Air Sial
Philippines
Cebu Pacific
Philippines AirAsia
Saudi Arabia
Flynas
Flyadeal
Singapore
Jetstar Asia Airways - subsidiary of Qantas
Scoot
South Korea
Air Busan
Air Premia
Air Seoul
Eastar Jet
Fly Gangwon
Jeju Air
Jin Air
T'way Air
Aero K
Taiwan
Tigerair Taiwan
Thailand
Nok Air
Thai AirAsia
Thai AirAsia X
Thai Lion Air
Thai Summer Airways
Thai Vietjet Air
United Arab Emirates
Air Arabia
Air Arabia Abu Dhabi
flydubai
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi
Vietnam
Pacific Airlines
VietJet Air
EUROPE
Ryanair, it should be noted, is the largest low-cost airline in Europe and second largest in the world.
Albania
Albawings
Austria
EasyJet Europe
Eurowings Europe
Czech Republic
Smartwings
France
French Bee
Transavia France
Germany
Eurowings - also a leisure carrier
Hungary
Wizz Air
Iceland
Play
Ireland
Ryanair
Italy
Aeroitalia
Malta
Malta Air
Lauda Europe
Wizz Air Malta
Moldova
FlyOne
HiSky
Netherlands
Transavia
Norway
Norse Atlantic Airways
Norwegian Air Norway
Norwegian Air Shuttle
Poland
Buzz
Romania
Air Connect
Dan Air
Russia
Citrus
Pobeda
Smartavia
Spain
Air Europa Express
Iberia Express
Level
Volotea
Vueling
Sweden
Norwegian Air Sweden
Switzerland
EasyJet Switzerland
Turkey
Pegasus Airlines
AnadoluJet
Ukraine
SkyUp (Grounded with flag carrier Ukraine International Airlines -UIA- since the start of the Russian invasion)
United Kingdom
EasyJet
Flypop
Jet2.com
Norse Atlantic UK
Ryanair UK
Wizz Air UK
LCCs and ULCCs are essentially scams, deceiving passengers by making them think they're saving money when they really aren't. Flag, legacy, or mainline (all essentially the same thing) carriers are more deserving of your hard-earned money than these Walmart equivalents of airlines.
