Global Deregulation Takes Off

About this Document

Air transportation is a large and growing part of the word’s economy. The Air Transport Action Group estimated the global economic impact of air transport at over $1 trillion in 1994, accounting for 24 million jobs – 3.3 million employed by the industry, 7.4 million by related industries, and 13.3 million induced in other sectors of the economy. This organization forecast that by 2010 the economic impact would approach $2 trillion,
accounting for over 30 million jobs.

This is the first in a series of reports that examine the effects of international air transportation developments. This report will focus on transatlantic markets because of the liberalization that has been achieved and the structural changes that have occurred to date as a result in that important component of the global airline system.

This report provides a broad picture of how the airline industry has reacted to the relaxation of regulatory constraints and the effects on traffic and fares. The report specifically addresses some of the effects of the larger immunized alliances, but does not attempt to attribute those effects to any particular feature of the alliances, such as antitrust immunity. There are successful alliances that have operated without antitrust
immunity.