Revisiting the airline business model spectrum: The influence of post global financial crisis and airline mergers in the US (2011 − 2013)

Abstract

This paper re-examines the airline business model spectrum first proposed by Lohmann and Koo in 2013. The paper analyses the period of 2011–2013, where the US airline industry was no longer affected by the global financial crisis and after a few major US airlines went through a merging process. This study examines eight US carriers i.e. Alaska, American, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue, SkyWest, Southwest and United. These eight airlines were placed along a continuum of business models, i.e. full-service network carrier (FSNC), hybrid and low-cost carriers (LCC), as proposed in the incipient study by Lohmann and Koo (2013). Data from the airlines were used to delineate and review the indices labelled as ‘revenue’, ‘connectivity’, ‘convenience’, ‘comfort’, ‘aircraft’ and ‘labour’, forming the framework of the business model used. The results of this study continue to highlight the characteristics of each of the US carriers examined for the six proposed indices. A comparison is made between both studies, with the results suggesting that both convergence and divergence from the original FSNC and LCC positions in the spectrum occurred, with a tendency of merged airlines to move towards the FSNC end of the spectrum.