The Battle for the Skies: Recent Legal Developments in the EU and US, and their Implications for the Consolidation of the Airline Industry

Abstract:     
The airline industry is one of the most emotive and controversial sectors of the global economy, and as such its attempts at international consolidation have been subjected to scrutiny from political circles as often as from competition authorities. This brief paper outlines how the industry’s need for drastic rationalisation has fared against the background of suspicious regulators and nationalistic governments. The recent moves towards Open Skies add an interesting cross-Atlantic dimension which is studied in order to give an insight into the regulatory and political decision-making under each system.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 17

Keywords: Competition, Mergers, Airline, Open Skies

JEL Classification: L93, G34

working papers series