Low Cost Long Haul Airlines: Slowly expand in the Europe-Asia market

AT LEAST THREE more LCC groups are preparing to enter the Asia-Europe market over the next two years: WOW air, AirAsia X and Lion. WOW air will become the sixth LCC in the Asia-Europe market in Dec-2018 as it launches services from Reykjavik to Delhi. Thai AirAsia is looking at launching services to Eastern Europe in 2019 while Thai Lion Air is aiming to launch services to Western Europe in 2020.

However, LCCs only account for 2% of Asia-Europe capacity and are not likely to capture more than a 5% share in the foreseeable future. Intense competition from full service airlines, including Gulf airlines, and rising fuel prices make the Asia-Europe market a challenging proposition for long haul low cost entrants.