Low cost airline operation is a recent phenomenon in the world of Travel & Tourism. Yet, it has caught the imagination of the traveling public around the world and gained a lot of admirers and supporters. It is appealing since the luxurious world of air travel is now affordable to more passengers and the low cost carriers have opened up destinations in remote places, hitherto skirted by the established carriers.
When the low cost airlines began appearing in the aviation horizon, many considered it a threat to the established “full service” carriers, eating into their customer base. However, it became obvious before long that the LCCs have created a niche for themselves by catching the fancy of the emerging travellers and the middle-income group. This group of passengers, once they were bitten by the air travel bug, is prepared to test the “full service” option, albeit at a higher cost. Thus, the LCCs have enlisted more travellers to the growing list of tourists, instead of diminishing the customer base of the legacy carriers.
