di Leonard Berberi
Southwest is opening lounges and Eurowings has installed genuine business-class seats on intra-European flights. In the US, four carriers control 80% of the market. In Europe, fare convergence is eroding the competitive edge. Ryanair is holding out
Spirit is gone. Frontier is struggling. Allegiant and Sun Country focus on the leisure market. Breeze and Avelo fly mostly to regional airports. Alaska Airlines/Hawaiian and JetBlue have become hybrid carriers. That leaves Southwest — the mother of all low-cost airlines — as the only true challenger to the big three (Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines). And Southwest, within a matter of months, has abandoned the open seating policy it pioneered half a century ago and is opening airport lounges for its premium customers.
This is not merely a commercial pivot aimed at boosting revenues. It is the clearest signal yet that the pure low-cost model — as Europe still knows it — no longer exists in the United States. And it is beginning to unravel here too. Eurowings, Lufthansa Group’s budget arm, is installing genuine business-class seats on its single-aisle jets. EasyJet is expanding lounge access. Transavia has opened its first dedicated lounge at
