Low-Cost Carriers in Aviation: Significance and Developments

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent literature on low-cost carriers, highlighting their impacts on competitors, airports, demand, passenger choices, and regional effects in the air transport industry.

Contribution

It categorizes and synthesizes recent research findings on low-cost airlines, providing a comprehensive overview of their multifaceted impacts since 2015.

Findings

Low-cost carriers increase competition among airlines.

They influence airport operations and infrastructure.

They affect air travel demand and regional development.

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss the impacts of low-cost airlines on the air transport market and, in particular, to present the most recent findings from the specialized literature in this field. To this end, several papers published on the topic since 2015 were selected and analyzed. Based on this analysis, the main subjects addressed in the studies were categorized into five groups: (i) impacts of low-cost airlines on competing carriers; (ii) impacts on airports; (iii) general effects on air transport demand; (iv) effects on passengers' choice processes; and (v) broader effects on geographical regions.