History Of Low Cost Airlines Offering Cheap Air Tickets

Low Cost Airlines operate in niche segment and fly with many restrictions and limitations maintaining a crucial balance between the customer requirements and efficient operations which makes it possible for them to provide cheap air tickets. Nowadays, countries in almost all the continents have their own low-cost carriers. Easyair and Ryanair of UK, Virgin America of US, Indigo Airlines, Jetlite and Spicejet of India, AirAsia of Malaysia, Tiger Airways of Singapore and Jetstar of Australia are some of the prominent names in the low cost carrier industry. But, how did it all began? How did this idea of a low cost carrier and the business model come into operation?
The credit for developing this model and becoming the first low cost carrier lies with the Southwest Airlines of Dallas, Texas, USA. This low cost airline began operations in 1971 and with its no-frills, short hopping routes and simple fare structure, it grew rapidly by providing low cost airfares to the customers. The success of the airlines set an example to be replicated all over the world, though it was done much later in these other parts of the world. In UK, the low cost carriers entered the foray in late 1970s when Laker Airways operated the no-frills transatlantic Skytrain flights from UK to US. The airline had to stop the services due to intense price competition from the major airlines but it did the pave the way for operation of other airlines such as Easyair and Ryanair in the 1990s.
In the South Asia region, the low cost carrier operations were initiated with the turn of the century since 2000. In India, the emergence of these carriers coincided with the opening of the sector for the private players by the government. However, the operation of the low cost carriers by providing cheap air tickets has not been a smooth ride for many of these carriers. Some of the more profitable ones which have been able to sustain and grow in the intense competition are Spicejet, Indigo Airlines and Jet Airways.
In South East Asia, AirAsia of Malaysia began pioneering LCC operations from 1996 and is now the largest low-cost carrier of Asia. Jetstar airways of Australia began operations in 2003 and two years later, it was Tiger Airways of Singapore that began operations in their respective countries.
There are many other European, Latin American and Asian countries which have LCCs of their own which provide not only the domestic but also the international connectivity with the neighboring countries.