Much as I would like the people in NAS to all keep their jobs, the business model wasn’t working too well prior to Covid making an appearance. Selling things below cost then trying to make it work by doing more of the same isn’t a great strategy. If we magically returned tomorrow to 2019 traffic levels, they would still be in trouble, probably more so as their competitors have become much leaner during the pandemic.
Low-cost LH is a bit of a misnomer. Where are there significant savings to be made over other carriers? Everyone pays much the same for fuel, overflights, landing and parking fees. Most relevantly, utilisation (where LCCs generally score) is no better because of slots, curfews and saving 10mins on the turnaround makes no difference on 10hr sectors. Crew have to be slipped, just the same as the other airlines. Network, alliances, product, punctuality, etc. are more important. If you charge less for a LH flight than everyone else, it’s almost certain that you’ll be making less money, or none at all.