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.

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.

The last few decades have witnessed substantial liberalization trends in various industries and countries. Starting with the deregulation of the US airline industry in 1978, regulatory restructuring took place in further network industries such as telecommunications, electricity or railways in various countries around the world. Although most of the liberalization movements were initially triggered by the worrying performances of the respective regulatory frameworks, increases in competition and corresponding improvements in allocative and productive efficiency were typically associated with the respective liberalization efforts. From an academic perspective, the transition from regulated industries to liberalized industries has attracted a substantial amount of research reflected in many books and research articles which can be distilled to three main questions: (1) What are the forces that have given rise to regulatory reform? (2) What is the structure of the regulatory change which has occurred to date and is likely to occur in the immediate future? (3) What have been the effects on industry efficiency, prices and profits of the reforms which have occurred to date? Liberalization in Aviation brings together renowned academics and practitioners from around the world to address all three questions and draw policy conclusions. The book is divided into five sections, in turn dealing with aspects of competition in various liberalized markets, the emergence and growth of low-cost carriers, horizontal mergers and alliances, infrastructures, and concluding with economic assessments of liberalization steps so far and proposed steps in the future.

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.

In the fast-changing theatre of air transportation, the strategic development of airlines and the operating economics of scheduled airline services have been transformed, following the profound impact of US deregulation. The lessons gleaned from the US experience, including effective ways of constraining rivals, have quickly been adopted by carriers facing the opening up to competition of their own local markets. In addition, in response to the hunt by the successful US survivors for further international traffic, carriers have been forced to emulate certain tactics adopted by these megacarriers, virtually irrespective of their own government’s regulatory stance. The economics of the sector, particularly with regard to revenue generation, has resulted in increased market concentration. In the longer term, prospects for competition remain unclear, given the likely existence of only a small number of similarly endowed, globally alligned megacarriers. This book explores the impact of deregulation policies on key areas of the airline industry, analyzes the response of incumbent carriers to economic freedom and examines whether or not it is possible to devise a pro-competitive regulatory strategy for this sector. The author provides the reader with a clear explanation as to: ¢ why airline deregulation policies have produced a number of unanticipated outcomes; ¢ why low-cost new entrants have been unable to survive under deregulation; ¢ why the impact of airline deregulation has differed between the USA and Western Europe. Using this analysis as a basis, he explores the future development of the sector, indicating the likely future trends towards globalization. He also argues that a competitive marketplace is not a guaranteed outcome of full deregulation and suggests an alternative approach. The book is of special interest to those members engaged in the airline industry, regulatory authorities and government departments of transport and industry. It wil

This title was first published in 2001. By giving long over-due detailed consideration to airline deregulation in countries other than the US, Dipendra Sinha makes a unique contribution to the literature on airline deregulation and transport economics.