Passengers pay more per mile on legacy airlines than on low-cost airlines. The gap closed around the financial crisis, briefly reversed a few years later and has widened again since.
What this shows: The chart covers 1995 Q1 to 2025 Q3. It plots Legacy carriers and Low-cost carriers (LCC) on a vertical axis of Yield (cents per revenue passenger-mile, prices of each year). Latest values: Legacy carriers 16.73; Low-cost carriers (LCC) 12.64. Data run through 2025 Q3.