Epilogue: Whither Low-Cost Aviation
Résumé
As an epilogue to the book, this closing chapter questions the futures of low-cost aviation in a (post-)pandemic world. It traces new (and ongoing) developments in the sector amid the COVID-19 crisis. The chapter notes the resilience of the low-cost carriers (LCCs) amid an unprecedented downturn and also highlights the reinforced dynamics of automation, securitization, and tensions affecting cost-conscious travel experiences. In addition to the contributions made by the various authors of the book, the chapter further reviews some promising research directions for the future. These include the sociocultural characteristics of low-cost aviation in the Global South; the labor behind LCC operations; “new” mobility streams such as youth travel, and long-distance commuting; and, finally, uses of information and communication technologies and the mobile phone in LCC (sub)cultures. This epilogue attests to the idea that they are countless stories yet to be told about how LCCs have caused people to turn their eyes to the sky.