Since a few years so-called Low Cost Carriers (LCC) are constantly emerging in the German air transport market by aquiring demand mainly through low prices. The US-American airline Southwest, currently ranging among the world`s 10 major airlines, is the pioneer of all LCC`s. In Germany, mainly 7 airlines are operating on more than 600 routes, having gained a market share of roundly 30%.
Analysis show that Low Cost Carriers do not only cut off market shares from well established airlines, but they also generate new traffic. Identifying new traffic is a challenging task. By means of extensive studies, DLR air transport research has been able to identify the price strategies of Low Cost Carriers. Accordingly, 2 groups can be distinguished: the group of pure Low Cost Carriers and the growing number of hybrid-carriers operating with several business models.
Low Cost Carrier (Download PDF [german])