This book addresses emerging legal and economic issues in competition and investment in air transport, against the backdrop of the role governments and airlines should play in avoiding protectionism and encouraging innovation and creativity. It evaluates current trends in air transport and the direction the industry is taking in the twenty first century. There are discussions on key aspects of air transport, such as safety assurance and environmental protection, as they are impacted by competition. The rapid evolution of aerospace transport and its effect on competition in air transport is also examined. A recurring theme of the book is the influence of creative destruction and disruptive innovation on air transport. This is addressed through an in-depth study of the contentious areas of law relating to the abuse of dominant positions and state aid, as reflected in the ongoing claim by the three largest US carriers against Gulf carriers such as Emirates Airlines, Etihad and Qatar Airways. The US carriers claim that Emirates and Etihad – which operate air services into the United States by virtue of an open-skies agreement between the US and The United Arab Emirates - are using generous subsidies given to them by their g overnments to illegally capture the “legitimate” market belonging to the US carriers. These issues are clarified in the book using analyses of competition law and investment law as they apply to air transport, free-trade-agreement analogies and an open-skies case study.

The break-up of BAA and the blocked takeover of Bratislava airport by the competing Vienna airport have brought the issue of airport competition to the top of the agenda for air transport policy in Europe. Airport Competition reviews the current state of the debate and asks whether airport competition is strong enough to effectively limit market power. It provides evidence on how travellers chose an airport, thereby altering its competitive position, and on how airports compete in different regions and markets. The book also discusses the main policy implications of mergers and subsidies.

Introduction to Air Transport Economics: From Theory to Applications uniquely merges the institutional and technical aspects of the aviation industry with their theoretical economic underpinnings. In one comprehensive textbook it applies economic theory to all aspects of the aviation industry, bringing together the numerous and informative articles and institutional developments that have characterized the field of airline economics in the last two decades as well as adding a number of areas original to an aviation text. Its integrative approach offers a fresh point of view that will find favor with many students of aviation. The book offers a self-contained theory and applications-oriented text for any individual intent on entering the aviation industry as a practicing professional in the management area. It will be of greatest relevance to undergraduate and graduate students interested in obtaining a more complete understanding of the economics of the aviation industry. It will also appeal to many professionals who seek an accessible and practical explanation of the underlying economic forces that shape the industry. The second edition has been extensively updated throughout. It features new coverage of macroeconomics for managers, expanded analysis of modern revenue management and pricing decisions, and also reflects the many significant developments that have occurred since the original’s publication. Instructors will find this modernized edition easier to use in class, and suitable to a wider variety of undergraduate or graduate course structures, while industry practitioners and all readers will find it more intuitively organized and more user friendly.

This groundbreaking book offers a critical and wide-ranging assessment of the global air transport liberalization process over the past 40 years. This compilation of world experts on air transport economics, policy, and regulation is timely and significant, considering that air transport is currently facing a series of new challenges due to technological changes, the emergence of new markets, and increased security concerns.

Placing the airport business within a conceptual framework, the author examines the major global issues that confront it and offers solutions to the economic and financial difficulties likely to arise in the future.

Although the airline, railroad, telecommunications, and electric power industries are at very different stages in adjusting to regulatory reform, each industry faces the same critical public policy question: Are policymakers taking appropriate steps to stimulate competition or are they turning back the clock by slowing the process of deregulation? This volume addresses that issue and identifies the next steps that policymakers should take to enhance public welfare in the provision of these services. Each chapter identifies the central policy issues that have arisen in each industry as it undergoes transformation to a deregulated environment. The authors reveal the flaws in the residual regulations and make the case for faster and more comprehensive deregulation. A concluding chapter identifies how interest groups continue to exert influence on regulatory agencies and on Congress, potentially undermining deregulation. The papers included here were initially presented in December 1999 at a conference sponsored and organized by the AEI–Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies.