Airline alliances have been dominating the air transport industry since the1990s and by now the four strategic alliances, in which almost all of the majorairlines participate, control the 56% of the world RPK.The thesis examines the airline alliance phenomenon in its entirety and morespecifically, it examines the reasons and circumstances that have led to theformulation of these alliances and the impact these alliances have had on theparticipating airlines.A key parameter airlines use to assess their own performance and that ofalliances is traffic. Thus, the present research examines alliances impact onthe traffic of the allied partners by different types of routes (hub-hub, hub-nonhub and non hub-non hub), different types of cooperation (FFP, code share,strategic alliance without and with antitrust immunity) and by the length of theroute. In addition, the thesis analyses which alliance groupings, which type ofairline and which geographical area have produced the best results from thealliances.To achieve these objectives, the thesis is divided into a theoretical and anempirical part. The theoretical approach starts with an industry allianceoverview and then moves to the presentation of airline alliances, bydiscussing the reasons that have led to their establishment, the evolution ofthe regulatory framework around which airline alliances have developed, thedefinition of airline alliances, the different forms they have taken, theiradvantages and disadvantages; and finally, the past and current alliancegroups.The empirical part focuses on the alliance traffic and analyses it around twodifferent axes. The first consists of a survey in which the airlines participatingin alliances were asked to assess their alliance participation and to quantifythe impact of alliances on several parameters of their operation andperformance and more specifically, on their passenger traffic. The secondanalyzes this impact on the basis of an econometric model that seeks todetermine and measure any positive impact on traffic volume generated byalliances. The findings indicate that airlines are satisfied from their alliance experienceas they have helped them achieve the main purpose for which they haveresorted to alliances, that is to secure increased network coverage with littlecapital investment. Both the survey and the econometric model indicate thatairline alliances have led to an increase in passenger traffic amounting to10%. According to the survey, this traffic increase is mainly registered on hubhubroutes while the econometric model indicates that this increase is evenlydistributed on hub-hub and hub-non hub routes. The benefits result mostlyfrom the marketing cooperation and appear within one or two years from theestablishment of the alliance. Alliances may bring about cost reduction, butthis depends on the level of integration among the partners. Almost allparticipants agree that alliances are the final stage of airline cooperation andthat there will be no or very few mergers.
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