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Since conducting agile strategies provides sustainable passenger satisfaction and revenue by replacing applied policies with more profitable ones rapidly, the focus of this study is to evaluate agile attributes for managing low-cost carriers (LCCs) operations by means of resources and competences based on dynamic capabilities built on resource-based view (RBV) theory and to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in a volatile and dynamic air transport environment. LCCs in Turkey are also evaluated in this study since the competition among LCCs is high to gain market share and they can adapt quickly to all kinds of circumstances.

Two well-known Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods (MCDM) named as the Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) and multi-attributive border approximation area comparison (MABAC) methods by employing Picture fuzzy sets (PiFS) are employed to determine weight of agile attributes and superiority of LCCs based on agile attributes in the market, respectively. To check the consistency and robustness of the results for the proposed approach, comparative and sensitivity analysis are performed at the end of the study.

While the ranking orders of agile attributes are Strategic Responsiveness (AG1), Financial Management (AG4), Quality (AG2), Digital integration (AG3) and Reliability (AG5), respectively, LCC2 is selected as the best agile airline company in Turkey with respect to agile attributes. SWARA and MABAC method based on PiFS is appropriate and effective method to evaluate agile attributes that has important reference value for the airline companies in aviation industry.

The findings of this study will support managers in the airline industry to conduct airline operations more flexibly and effectively to take sustainable competitive advantage in unexpected and dynamic environment.

To the author' best knowledge, this study is the first developed to identify the attributes necessary to increase agility in LCCs. Thus, as a systematic tool, a framework is developed for the implementation of agile attributes to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in the airline industry and presented a roadmap for airline managers to deal with crises and challenging situations by satisfying customer and increasing competitiveness.

In the first two decades of the twenty-first century, low-cost carriers grew rapidly in many low- and middle-income economies. In this chapter, we examine the geography and network structure of low-cost carriers in such economies across Asia in 2018. We use these analyses to explore the relationship between budget airlines and economic development. Levels of disposable income and infrastructure adequacy help to account for the significance of low-cost airlines in some middle-income economies. And in turn, these airlines by fostering higher levels of accessibility and personal mobility may help catalyze faster development. However, the environmental externalities associated with aviation, especially atmospheric emissions, raise concerns about the sustainability of this mode. We assess these concerns and focus in particular on the development of low-cost carriers fleets in Asia. We ask whether the acquisition of more fuel-efficient aircraft will ameliorate aviation's environmental impact.

This chapter examines the issues of the low-cost carriers (LCCs) in Japan and their impact on the domestic and international aviation markets. “Genuine” LCCs, such as Peach Aviation and Jetstar Japan, began their operations in 2012 to follow the new movement of low-cost and low-fare airlines, which are different from the “new emerging” airlines, such as Skymark and AIRDO that appeared in the late 1990s. We discuss the recent history of LCCs in Japan, the characteristics of each LCC, the competitiveness of the high-speed railway in the domestic market, the impact of open sky policies, and the contribution of inbound foreign visitors to the international passenger volume increase. As LCCs in Japan have recently begun operations, they can continue to play a significant role in the Japanese aviation market.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships among the constructs of service quality, satisfaction, and behavioural intentions in passengers of three low‐cost carriers (LCCs) offering airline services in Thailand.

A large sample of 1,212 passengers who had travelled on LCCs in Thailand in the preceding 12 months is surveyed to test four hypothesised relationships among the constructs of service quality, satisfaction, and behavioural intentions using structural equation modelling (SEM).

The study finds that the order of importance of the dimensions of service quality tested here is: flight schedules; flight attendants; tangibles; and ground staff. Passenger satisfaction with these service‐quality dimensions is found to be very important in explaining behavioural intentions. Satisfied passengers are mostly influenced by the schedule. Such customers engage in positive word‐of‐mouth communication and have high repurchase intentions. Dissatisfied passengers prefer to change airlines, rather than provide feedback to the LCCs.

The study has not definitively established causality among the constructs of service quality, satisfaction, and behavioural intentions. Moreover, satisfaction is based only on service quality. Future research should examine the causality and other possible satisfaction factors.

Managers of LCCs who have not traditionally placed a high priority on quality should be aware of the importance of service quality and passenger satisfaction in determining the behavioural intentions of passengers of LCCs.

The study provides an example of the use of a revised set of SERVPERF service‐quality dimensions. The study also posits passenger satisfaction and behavioural intentions in a single model in the context of LCCs in Thailand.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the issues pertinent to sourcing internationally from low‐cost countries (LCCs) and to understand which issues are associated most strongly with a firm's logistics performance.

Comparative examination of supply sources in developed countries and LCCs is conducted using a paired‐sample setting. Data acquired by a mail survey of US‐based manufacturing firms are analyzed using a canonical correlation analysis (CCA). CCA helps to reveal the structure of relationships within and between a set of sourcing issue variables and a set of the logistics performance variables investigated.

Results indicate that the issues that should be priorities for improvement are: supplier production capability; business culture and practices; and communication infrastructure.

The survey data and analysis focused on US manufacturing firms importing from LCCs. However, there is increasing activity of US retailers importing from LCCs, suggesting a need for a follow‐on study which considers the retailer perspective.

Results not only validate the issues to be considered in sourcing from LCCs, but also provide a direction for logistics managers in allocating an organization's scarce resources to the issues of highest potential for improving logistics performance.

The fast emerging role of LCCs as supply sources of US firms and the cost advantages of sourcing from LCCs are widely recognized. However, challenges associated with sourcing internationally from LCCs and the extent to which they are related to a firm's logistics performance have received limited attention in existing logistics research. This study contributes valuable insights into this area of international sourcing and logistics management.

By extending the existing service quality dimensions and reflecting the low-cost carriers (LCCs) context, the purpose ot this study aims to develop the research model to examine whether passenger satisfaction mediates the relationship between service quality and behavioral intentions of LCCs across low- and high-experience passengers.

Data collected from 320 passengers (180 for low-experience passengers and 140 for high-experience passengers) to test the research model. The partial least square structural equation modeling approach was used to perform the path modeling and multi-group analysis.

The results confirm that passenger satisfaction mediates the relationship between four service quality constructs (tangible features, service reliability, quality of personnel and online ticketing service) and behavioral intentions (repurchase and recommendation intentions) for both low- and high-experience passengers. However, convenient flight schedule has a significant influence on passenger satisfaction only for low-experience passengers.

The results of multi-group analysis indicated that passenger satisfaction exerts stronger effect on recommendation intentions for low-experience passengers. LCCs managers' priority should be placed on providing satisfying service experiences to less experienced passengers. Improved passenger satisfaction through superior service quality motivates low-experience passengers to recommend LCCs, thus increasing the positive word-of-mouth promotion.

Theoretically, this study is first considering both low- and high-experience LCCs passenger perceptions to examine how passenger satisfaction mediates the relationship between service quality and post-purchase intentions. From the managerial perspective, the findings can provide useful management insights into developing multi-faceted strategies that allow LCCs firms to restore passenger confidence and retain their repurchase intentions.

The Korean airline industry continues to change in 20-year cycles structurally. The major changes are in their market through deregulation and liberalization resulting in adding more carriers, especially low-cost carriers (LCCs) from 2006. The authors categorize three types of LCCs in Korea: (1) independent LCCs, (2) LCCs subsidized by existing airlines as airlines-within-airlines (AwAs), and (3) LCCs supported by conglomerates and local governments. Independent LCCs have suffered financially during the research period from 2009 to 2013, especially from the impaired capital, even though these LCCs are growing rapidly and expanding their markets in domestic and international routes. AwAs’ efficiency is higher than that of independent LCCs, the roles in the market are limited because of cannibalization by their mother company.

Firms with linear pricing offer their customers the same price for each unit of a good or service. Anything else is nonlinear pricing. Nonlinear pricing in imperfect markets indicates a fundamental asymmetry in information between firms and consumers. Consumers are commonly expected to exhibit quality- or quantity-preference differences and have different reservation values for different product attributes. The firms, however, cannot observe consumers' preferences. When complete information regarding preferences is not observable, nonlinear pricing strategies with firms offering a menu or schedule of prices allow consumers to sort themselves according to their own preferences, resulting in market segmentation.

In the last decades, low-cost carriers (LCCs) have generated several changes in the air market for both passengers and airports. Mainly for regional airports, LCCs have represented an important opportunity to improve their connectivity levels and passenger traffic. Furthermore, many regional airports have become key factors to regenerate the local economy by improving accessibility and stimulating several markets, such as tourism. However, the relationship between LCCs and airports is rather complex and the outcomes not always predictable. In order to analyze and understand better such relationship and its outcomes, this chapter discusses the main underlying factors identified in: relation with the regional air market (secondary/primary airports), balance of power (dominated/non-dominated airports), and industrial organization (bases/non-bases). Starting from the proposed Relative Closeness Index, which combines yearly airport passengers and distance between airport pairs, a large sample of European airports is analyzed. Then, a smaller sub-sample – which includes selected, significant case studies referring to mid-sized airports – is discussed in detail. Among the main findings, airports sharing their catchment area with others are in a very risky position, due to the potential mobility of LCCs, while geographically isolated airports in good catchment areas can better counterbalance the power of carriers.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between the dimensions of sustainable competitive advantages in the Indian low cost airlines.

This study used structural equation modelling methods to identify the factors that significantly affect the sustainable competitive advantages enjoyed by Indian low-cost carriers (LCCs). Specifically, this study is based on the data from 208 airline experts that populate multiple structural equation models.

Results indicate that indigenous efficiency, the LCCs perceptions of threat, dexterity, strategic persuasion and the LCC adopting an enabling role positively affect LCCs’ competitive advantages. These five factors were all correlated with each other. The results also show that relative to an LCC’s dexterity, indigenous efficiency is a stronger predictor of an LCC’s competitive advantages.

This study provides low-cost airlines with valuable information for designing effective strategies for obtaining competitive advantages in the LCC sector. To conclude the paper, the authors offer practical recommendations for managers and suggest some avenues for future research in this area.