Europe’s low cost long haul airlines establish themselves

THIS REPORT OFFERS AN overview of Europe's low cost long haul operators and their long haul fleets.

According to CAPA analysis of the CAPA Fleet Database, Europe has 49 aircraft that are currently deployed on long haul low cost routes. Not surprisingly, the majority of these aircraft are widebodies, but there are now four narrowbodies with low cost airlines based in Europe that are operating trans Atlantic routes.

These 49 aircraft are operated by just six airline brands: Norwegian, Eurowings, WOW air, Primera Air, French Bee and LEVEL.

Nevertheless, little more than five years ago, none of these airlines operated on long haul and some did not even exist at all. In spite of question marks over the profitability of the model (Norwegian, in particular, has struggled with losses in two of the four full years since entering long haul), Europe's low cost long haul operators continue to develop and grow.