| Description | Since the deregulation of the air transport industry, first in the US and later in Europe, the industry underwent a major competitive shake-up. A wide array of new carrier start-ups emerged competing on fares with established legacy carriers. These low-cost carriers offer generally low fares in exchange for eliminating many traditional passenger services (frills) and simplification and streamlining of operational processes. The low-cost carrier business model has, until now, been primarily focused on the short-haul routes and pointto-point operations. Looking at developments in the current air transport industry, the objective of this thesis is to explain the opportunity of transferring the low-cost model to long-haul operations. The results show that long-haul low-cost is not expected to revolutionise the industry as it once did on short-haul, since opportunities for further reduction of costs on the long-haul are limited. Yet, opportunities for long-haul low-cost carriers do exist but only if the carriers identify the right market, operate on high demand routes and have a low-cost philosophy. |
