US airline industry unit costs have become highly competitive post-Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Measured by cost per available seat kilometre (CASK), the unit cost gap between low-cost carriers (LCCs) and full service carriers (FSCs) is narrower in the Americas than in any other major world region, particularly in the US.

US FSCs also have the lowest average CASK among global groupings in CAPA's CASK-RASK database.

The US airlines have spent time in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and many have evolved from a low cost culture. But there is a risk for major incumbents in focusing on their own domestic and intra-regional markets. Airlines too focussed on these markets have conceded a big head start to airlines in other regions in the race for global pre-eminence.