Different models in different spaces or liberalized optimizations? Competitive strategies among low-cost carriers

This paper asks whether the economic success of low cost carriers (LCCs) has been achieved through optimizations of network structures to liberalized market conditions. By examining the network structures of six successful LCCs, the paper moves away from the idea of a “low cost carrier model” and instead highlights the range of spatial strategies employed by budget airlines in liberalized marketplaces. Findings show that significantly different spatial models are employed by the six carriers examined in this study. Unlike previous studies on the networks structures of LCCs, this paper moves beyond any one specific region and looks at the networks of budget airlines in Asia, Europe, and North America. Fundamental differences in the network structures of LCCs on these three continents indicate that liberalization has allowed for the utilization of a variety of spatial operating models rather than a singular optimal model.