abstract: In 2004 the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia joined the European Union (EU) as part of the EU's greatest enlargement to date. These countries were followed by Bulgaria and Romania in 2007. One benefit of joining the EU was the freedom for residents in the new EU member states to migrate to western European nations, notably the United Kingdom (UK). A result of this new freedom was an increased need for air travel. The intersection of the expansion of the EU with the introduction of low-cost airline service was the topic addressed in this study. Yearly traffic statistics obtained from the UK Civil Aviation Authority were used to formulate a trend line of passenger volume growth from 1990 to 2003. Through a time series regression analysis, a confidence interval was calculated that established that, beginning with the year 2004, passenger volumes exceeded the probable margin of error, despite flat population growth. Low-cost carriers responded to these market conditions through the introduction of new flights across the region. These carriers modeled themselves after Southwest Airlines, a strategy that appeared to be more effective at meeting the needs of the post-accession travel boom. The result was a dramatic rise in both passenger volumes and low-cost airline routes in an east-west direction across the continent. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.Tech Technology 2012

Over the past 20 years, there were several low-cost airlines identified as the most successful airlines in Europe according to the number of transported passengers. Theoretical part of the thesis has several objectives. It is an analysis of the airlines success it selves as well as an analysis of their gradual development in low cost air travel within Europe and description of the low-cost aviation market in Europe in terms of the history and competitiveness. The practical part which is the main objective of the thesis is an overall analysis of the differences in business models of low-cost carriers and the impact of these differences on the development of their economic and operational performance.