[Anonymous]

[MarcusUK]

A very interesting, broad article from The Sunday Telegraph, regarding the origin of Low Cost Airlines, and the battle within Europe of the current players.
Could Ryanair have had its day…?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/10454522/Low-cost-airlines-have-come-a-long-way.-But-who-will-win-the-battle.html

[AMcWhirter]

Good morning, Marcus

The article in question omitted the most important fact regarding low-cost airlines … only those carriers with the lower operating costs will survive.

Having followed the fortunes of LCCs (low-cost carriers) from the late 1970s I have seen so many carriers fail (on both sides of the Atlantic) because their costs got out of hand.

As I mentioned in a recent Snapshot page (the one concerning People Express), Southwest is the only US LCC to have survived since 1972 simply by virtue of having the lowest cost structure.

Ryanair has the lowest cost structure in Europe, if not the world. That is why it should succeed while others may fall by the wayside.

Of course, here I’m referring to short-haul flights. The economics of operating low-cost long-haul are not yet proven as my detailed article in the October issue demonstrates.

[Author]

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