IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/revind/v64y2024i4d10.1007_s11151-024-09948-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Spirit Effect: Ultra-Low Cost Carriers and Fare Dispersion in the U.S. Airline Industry

Author

Listed:
  • Brad Shrago

    (US Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General)

Abstract

I study the relationship between competition and price dispersion by evaluating the competitive role of “ultra-low-cost carriers” (ULCCs) in the U.S. airline industry. These carriers have significantly lower unit costs than do traditional “low-cost carriers” (LCCs), and the ULCCs focus almost exclusively on leisure travelers, and offer unbundled products with low base fares and fees for many ancillary services. Public statements in carriers’ earnings calls from 2012 to 2019 indicate that “legacy carriers” responded to ULCC expansion by increasing fare segmentation and further reducing fares at the bottom of the fare distribution. Using data from 2012Q1 to 2019Q4, I show that ULCC presence significantly widens fare dispersion, whereas competition from legacy carriers and LCCs does not meaningfully affect fare dispersion in most cases. More generally, my results show that failing to account for firm-level heterogeneity could lead to inappropriate conclusions about the relationship between competition and price dispersion.

Suggested Citation

  • Brad Shrago, 2024. "The Spirit Effect: Ultra-Low Cost Carriers and Fare Dispersion in the U.S. Airline Industry," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 64(4), pages 549-579, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:revind:v:64:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s11151-024-09948-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s11151-024-09948-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11151-024-09948-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11151-024-09948-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Diego Escobari & Nicholas G. Rupp & Joseph Meskey, 2019. "An Analysis of Dynamic Price Discrimination in Airlines," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 85(3), pages 639-662, January.
    2. Shrago, Brad, 2022. "The spatial effects of entry on airfares in the U.S. airline industry," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 30(C).
    3. Ambarish Chandra & Mara Lederman, 2018. "Revisiting the Relationship between Competition and Price Discrimination," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(2), pages 190-224, May.
    4. John Kwoka & Kevin Hearle & Phillippe Alepin, 2016. "From the Fringe to the Forefront: Low Cost Carriers and Airline Price Determination," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 48(3), pages 247-268, May.
    5. Austan Goolsbee & Chad Syverson, 2008. "How Do Incumbents Respond to the Threat of Entry? Evidence from the Major Airlines," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(4), pages 1611-1633.
    6. Jan K. Brueckner & Darin N. Lee & Pierre M. Picard & Ethan Singer, 2015. "Product Unbundling in the Travel Industry: The Economics of Airline Bag Fees," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 457-484, September.
    7. Brueckner, Jan K. & Lee, Darin & Singer, Ethan S., 2013. "Airline competition and domestic US airfares: A comprehensivereappraisal," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 1-17.
    8. Gaggero, Alberto A. & Luttmann, Alexander, 2023. "The determinants of hidden-city ticketing: Competition, hub-and-spoke networks, and advance-purchase requirements," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    9. Mian Dai & Qihong Liu & Konstantinos Serfes, 2014. "Is the Effect of Competition on Price Dispersion Nonmonotonic? Evidence from the U.S. Airline Industry," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(1), pages 161-170, March.
    10. Bachwich, Alexander R. & Wittman, Michael D., 2017. "The emergence and effects of the ultra-low cost carrier (ULCC) business model in the U.S. airline industry," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 155-164.
    11. Borenstein, Severin & Rose, Nancy L, 1994. "Competition and Price Dispersion in the U.S. Airline Industry," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(4), pages 653-683, August.
    12. Lewis, Matthew S., 2021. "Identifying airline price discrimination and the effect of competition," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    13. Steven Berry & Panle Jia, 2010. "Tracing the Woes: An Empirical Analysis of the Airline Industry," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 1-43, August.
    14. Steven A. Morrison, 2001. "Actual, Adjacent, and Potential Competition Estimating the Full Effect of Southwest Airlines," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 35(2), pages 239-256, May.
    15. Kristopher S. Gerardi & Adam Hale Shapiro, 2009. "Does Competition Reduce Price Dispersion? New Evidence from the Airline Industry," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 117(1), pages 1-37, February.
    16. Lei He & Georgia Kosmopoulou, 2021. "Subcontracting Network Formation Among U.S. Airline Carriers," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(4), pages 817-853, December.
    17. Zou, Li & Yu, Chunyan & Rhoades, Dawna & Waguespack, Blaise, 2017. "The pricing responses of non-bag fee airlines to the use of bag fees in the US air travel market," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 209-219.
    18. Lei He & Myongjin Kim & Qihong Liu, 2022. "Competitive response to unbundled services: An empirical look at Spirit Airlines," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 115-145, February.
    19. Jan Brueckner & Darin Lee & Ethan Singer, 2014. "City-Pairs Versus Airport-Pairs: A Market-Definition Methodology for the Airline Industry," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 44(1), pages 1-25, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Luttmann, Alexander & Ladd, Daniel, 2023. "Loyalty rewards and redemption behavior: Stylized facts for the U.S. airline industry," MPRA Paper 119214, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Myongjin Kim & Qihong Liu & Nicholas G. Rupp, 2023. "When Do Firms Offer Higher Product Quality? Evidence from the Allocation of Inflight Amenities," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 62(2), pages 149-177, March.
    3. Luttmann, Alexander & Gaggero, Alberto A, 2020. "Purchase discounts and travel premiums during holiday periods: Evidence from the airline industry," MPRA Paper 104863, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Kerkemezos, Yannis & Pennings, Enrico & Karreman, Bas & van Reeven, Peran, 2023. "Price asymmetries and the path dependence of market power: Evidence from the U.S. airline industry," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    5. Fiore, Alexander & Zanzalari, Danielle, 2023. "The competitive effects of product unbundling: Evidence from U.S. airlines," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    6. Lei He & Myongjin Kim & Qihong Liu, 2022. "Competitive response to unbundled services: An empirical look at Spirit Airlines," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 115-145, February.
    7. Kang Hua Cao & Betty Krier & Chia-Mei Liu & Brian McNamara & Jerrod Sharpe, 2017. "The Nonlinear Effects of Market Structure on Service Quality: Evidence from the U.S. Airline Industry," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 51(1), pages 43-73, August.
    8. Shrago, Brad, 2022. "The spatial effects of entry on airfares in the U.S. airline industry," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 30(C).
    9. Silke J. Forbes & Renáta Kosová, 2023. "Does Competition Benefit Complements? Evidence from Airlines and Hotels," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(8), pages 4733-4752, August.
    10. Borsati, Mattia & Fageda, Xavier, 2024. "Airline price responses in the face of demand shocks: European lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    11. Kerry M. Tan, 2018. "Outsourcing and Price Competition: An Empirical Analysis of the Partnerships Between Legacy Carriers and Regional Airlines," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 53(2), pages 275-294, September.
    12. Siegert, Caspar & Ulbricht, Robert, 2020. "Dynamic oligopoly pricing: Evidence from the airline industry," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    13. Azar, José & Schmalz, Martin & Tecu, Isabel, 2017. "Anti-Competitive Effects of Common Ownership," IESE Research Papers D/1169, IESE Business School.
    14. Genakos, C. & Grey, F. & Ritz, R., 2020. "Generalized linear competition: From pass-through to policy," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2078, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    15. Gil, Ricard & Kim, Myongjin, 2021. "Does competition increase quality? Evidence from the US airline industry," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    16. Liu, Qihong & Xie, Xin, 2024. "Product line competition: An empirical analysis of the Chinese airline industry," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    17. Lewis, Matthew S., 2021. "Identifying airline price discrimination and the effect of competition," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    18. Ivaldi, Marc & Petrova, Milena & Urdanoz, Miguel, 2022. "Airline cooperation effects on airfare distribution: An auction-model-based approach," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 239-250.
    19. Yannis Kerkemezos & Bas Karreman, 2020. "On the Benefits of Being Alone: Scheduling Changes, Intensity of Competition and Dynamic Airline Pricing," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 20-042/VII, Tinbergen Institute.
    20. Donggeun Kim & Myongjin Kim & Kerry Tan, 2021. "Tacit collusion and price dispersion in the presence of Southwest Airlines," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 88(1), pages 3-32, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:revind:v:64:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s11151-024-09948-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.