Airline Competition In The Single European Market

How was the European airline industry transformed from national fragmentation in 1957 to a point in 2006 where the European Commission could negotiate with the US for an Open Aviation Area on behalf of all twenty five members of the European Union? What can explain the change in mindset that saw conservatism and the tight regulation of the airline

Prior to liberalization, there was little scope for predatory behaviour in the aviation market. However, following deregulation, new entrants sought to compete with entrenched incumbents. Low-cost carriers (LCCs) gained significant market share, which in turn provoked many different kinds of defensive response. Having put pressure on established carriers, low-cost airlines are themselves feeling the pressure of competition from new operators. While it is normal and natural for airlines to react to competition - modifying their services, the ways in which they offer them and their prices - when does aggressive commercial behaviour go too far and become predation? This book considers what exactly is meant by 'predation' in the aviation environment, and explores the strategies LCCs adopt in order to gain market share, as well as the strategies of the established airlines in response to competition from new entrants to the market. It also addresses the key question of what competition policy should do to ensure intensive competition. Competition versus Predation in Aviation Markets brings together contributions from around the world, from airlines, government agencies, leading academics and consultants, providing a wealth of perspectives on a business practice crucial to airline survival.

This definitive book offers the first full study of the development of the European Union's air-transport policy. Crucial to both globalization and regional integration, commercial aviation, along with other transport industries, provides the logistics for business activities, political life, and contact between cultures. Exploring the long struggle to create a "Europe of the air" through both regulatory change and airline strategizing, Martin Staniland examines the political bargains that have shaped a highly fragmented industry and its regulation. An invaluable case-study in industrial policy, this book will be essential reading for students of aviation, as well as for scholars interested in regulatory change and European integration.

State intervention in air transport is omnipresent. Airlines, in particular, are major beneficiaries of State aid. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the law regulating State aids to airlines, which includes sections on Articles 107 TFEU and 108 TFEU as well as an overview of legal issues raised by air transport and competition in the EU, in particular deregulation and its consequences. EU Law on State Aid to Airlines follows a multi-disciplinary approach by relying on the fundamental concepts of economics and policy analysis. This approach allows grasping the wider implications of this sector's issues for the field of State Aid, in particular in the light of the 'more economic approach' and the 'balancing test'. Furthermore, additional perspective is given on State aid law in the air transport sector through comparative analyses of regulations in the United States and Switzerland and outlooks on international relations. Finally, the book presents a number of recent Commission decisions with a dramatic importance for the air transport, with the opening of formal investigation procedures regarding alleged State aid to low-cost airlines operating from regional airports all over Europe. Magnus Schmauch is Legal Secretary at the EFTA Court in the Chambers of judge Pall Hreinsson. Previous experience includes four years as a lawyer at the Court of Justice of the European Union. He has published a large number of articles on State aid and other fields of EU law and teaches on EU law and fundamental rights at the University of Lund, Sweden.

Assesses changes to air transport regulations that have been undertaken by the European Economic Community (EEC) and the effects of those changes on U.S. and European airlines. Appendices: marketing and investment agreements by airlines in the EEC, U.S. airlines' routes to Europe and glossary. Charts, tables and maps.

Since the liberalisation of air transport in the EU in the late 1980s, with the application of competition law to agreements and practices within the EU, and between EU and non-EU airlines since 2004, competition has intensifi ed and the industry has evolved, with the emergence of low cost carriers, greater consolidation between full service carriers through mergers and alliances, and most recently, convergence of business models as airlines respond to competitive pressures. The enforcement of competition law has also increased within the EU – at EU and EU member state level and internationally. This practical and thoroughly researched book, minimising the need for cross-referencing, is the only current comprehensive study of European competition law from the perspective of the airline industry. Among the issues and topics covered are the following: - commercial agreements between airlines such as code-sharing, mergers and alliances and other joint ventures; - means of distribution such as computer reservation (or global distribution) systems and travel agents; - supply and distribution agreements; - abusive conduct by dominant companies including airports, airlines, or other companies; - cartels, including the Airfreight cartel case; - information exchange between competitors; - procedure, enforcement and private actions for damages; - state aid to airlines by Governments, through agreements between regional airports and low cost carriers, and aid to airports; and - subsidies by non-EU countries to airlines. The author also gives an overview of the liberalisation process, the European Common Aviation Area, agreements with non-EU countries, latest developments (including Brexit) and ongoing trends. As a practical guide to the application of competition law in relation to drafting commercial agreements, planning and structuring mergers and alliances, assessing existing agreements, or handling claims or disputes among airlines or airports, legal practitioners in the transport fi eld will fi nd this book to be of inestimable value, as will business persons at airlines and airports. For regulators, academics, and university libraries, this book will also prove itself indispensable.

Examines the regulation and governance of the single European market. Topics explored include: air transport liberalization; the protection of pregnant women at the workplace; and the removal of technical barriers to trade. (European Policy Research Unit).