- Skymark Airlines
The Japanese airline has successfully attacked the duopoly of Japan Air Lines and All Nippon Airways in the lucrative Japanese domestic market since 1998. With over 30 aircraft, 15 destinations in Japan are conveniently connected. Skymark Airlines is now experiencing financial problems.
- Tiger Airways
The Günstig Airline from Singapore specializes in connecting destinations in Southeast Asia and to Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea. It was founded in 2003 and flies with 19 Airbus A320s. Tiger Airways quickly became profitable.
- SpiceJet
SpiceJet is number three in the huge and rapidly growing domestic flight market in India. The airline was founded in 2004 by entrepreneur Kalanithi Maran. A fleet of 51 aircraft will fly to 54 destinations across India. With clever marketing campaigns like 1 million seats for the equivalent of EUR 25.00, SpiceJet became very popular in India.
- Air Arabia
Air Arabia is one of the most successful low-cost airlines in the Middle East in terms of passenger numbers. Founded in 2003, the airline offers flights to 81 destinations in Europe, Africa, India and Asia and of course the Middle East. The airline’s base is Sharjah to keep costs down because the nearby Dubai airport would cost much more.
- WestJet Airlines
WestJet was the answer to Air Canada’s near monopoly on domestic flights in Canada. It now carries almost as many passengers as its big competitor with the maple leaf and is the ninth largest airline in North America, although WestJet Airlines was only founded in 1996. The fleet now comprises 101 aircraft and flies to Canada in the USA, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean.
- AirAsia
In Asia, AirAsia from Malaysia was the pioneer of all low-cost airlines. The airline has had double-digit growth for years and now offers flights to over 400 destinations in Southeast Asia. It has subsidiaries in numerous countries to circumvent trade restrictions, such as AirAsia X, Thai AirAsia, AirAsia Japan, AirAsia Philippines and Indonesian AirAsia. Long-haul connections to Europe and Australia are also in the works. AirAsia’s motto is “Now everyone can fly”!
- JetBlue Airways
The airline from New York in the United States is one of the most popular low cost airlines. It was founded in 1999 and offers connections to 75 destinations in the United States, the Caribbean and South America with 172 Airbus aircraft . Even after September 11, 2001, JetBlue remained profitable.
- Ryanair
Ryanair is from Ireland but is now active across Europe with a fleet of over 300 Boeing 737s. It flies to 160 destinations and has a very famous, albeit controversial, CEO, Michael O’Leary. Ryanair is always successfully talking about novel, absurd cost-saving ideas such as paid toilets or standing seats on the plane.
- Easyjet
Easyjet is one of the leading low-cost airlines in Europe. With 190 aircraft, connections to over 130 destinations are offered. Recently Easyjet has successfully brought business people on board their Airbuses. The British are also less controversial than Ryanair and therefore more popular with passengers and the press.
- Southwest Airlines
Soutwest Airlines is the model and model of every other low-cost airline. The low-cost flight model has been in operation since 1969 and today Soutwest is the largest airline in the US domestic market after passengers. A fleet of 586 Boeing aircraft flies to 78 destinations in the United States. Southwest Airlines operates 3,400 flights a day!
