Originally Posted by
iahphx
There has never been a successful low cost airline flying across the Atlantic. Which isn't to say it's impossible, but it's very hard. There's a reason why all the major airlines fight for the premium class pax on these routes. That's where the money is made.
In Norwegian's case, the management mistakes have been mind-boggling. Not only did they embrace a dubious concept, but they did it at a break-neck pace from secondary airports on tertiary routes where their prospects were the bleakest. The proper course of business, if they believed their model could work, was start slow, refine the product and see what happens. Instead, they went all out on a strategy that couldn't possibly work. Why anyone gave money to these guys to do this is even more mind-boggling than the business plan.
Never? Generations of students flew Icelandic to LUX for their European adventures. I don't know how you qualify success, but this LCC seemed to last for a long time, although I guess we can quibble about whether it was a charter operation.