Today's Airlines Should Adopt a Low-Cost Strategy: Can This Popular Idea Be Supported by the Facts?(Manuscripts‪)‬

ABSTRACT Airline strategic planners have viewed growth as their overriding objective as they have considered changes in customer markets and operations since WWII. This growth has been largely accomplished through an industry focus on differentiation with the exception of a few noteworthy carriers that have used a low-cost focus to achieve market growth. This research questions whether a strategy designed to achieve growth based on low cost has moved beyond being considered an exception to now being considered the norm for the airline industry. The methodology for answering this question involved an analysis of the airline industry's modern era business cycles and included an analysis of changing market forces, opportunities, and threats. From this analysis, we have to qualify our conclusions by first noting that the answer to the research question was not as obvious as the popular literature would suggest. Documented support for a low-cost strategy is summarized, and conclusions are drawn as to the long-term attractiveness of this strategic option.