A meaningless term?
In the USA the term "low cost carrier," "budget," etc. has almost lost any meaning.
Spirit Air probably comes closest to the original meaning of these words. The price of your ticket covers transportation, and nothing more. Said transportation can be in a middle seat, next to the toilet, and in the back of the plane. You pay for a better seat, food, and checked baggage. US Airways actually claims to be a "low cost carrier." Their stock ticker symbol is "LCC"--Low Cost Carrier.
In the generic sense of these terms Southwest might be the only EXCEPTION. Just about all other US-based carriers operate at significant variance to their timetables (poor reliability,) and have a lot of help with attitude problems.
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