Analysis of the Long-Term Survival of Long-Haul Low-Cost Airlines on the North Atlantic Air Route

In the last decade, the transatlantic market has experienced a boom in the emergence of long-haul low-cost airlines. However, a number of carriers exiting the market followed its rapid entry. In the last three years, three airlines, namely Air Berlin, WOW Air, and Primera Air went bankrupt. The paper analyzes the survival of long-haul low-cost airlines on the North Atlantic market in the long-term. The hypotheses are tested with both financial as well as non-financial data using the difference-in-differences method, correlation, and a linear probability model. The results retrieved are significant, showing the extent of possible survival is limited. The outcomes are supported by the announcement that another player, Eurowings, will exit the market by 2021.