Strategy and Entry Barriers in European Aviation: an Empirical Investigation into One of the Most Decisive Phases of the European Liberalisation of Air Traffic from 1993 to 1997

This book presents applied research that may be relevant to the advanced student of Industrial Organization as well as policy makers who want to reassess the forces that shaped European Aviation in the critical years between 1993 and 1997. This early research into the liberalisation of Air Traffic stresses contradictions between formulated policy aims and the actual impact that they had on consumer welfare and mobility within the EU. The anticipated entry of new competitors in fact had never been truly encouraged nor was it effective during the observed period. Quality of service had not improved significantly, nor have ticket prices come down pervasively, also due to price discrimination and IT reservation systems. Apart from a few successful low-cost entrants (which had grown only later and faced tremendous opposition from regulators as well), convenient point-to-point connections with larger, comfortable and modern aircraft remained elusive. In addition, bottlenecks in air traffic became instrumentalized, with passengers spending more time in the air at congested airports or on the ground with ever scarcer take-off slots.