• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
• /
• v.26
• /
• pp.115-141
• /
• 2005

This study explores how strategic alliance activities are evolving and the factors that impact on the formation and development of airline alliances. Findings show the initiation of regional and more liberalized bilateral, or open skies, agreements have removed some of the impediments to structural changes in international aviation. Airlines in more liberal markets enter into greater numbers and more integrative forms of alliances. Also, airlines, on average, achieve better results of operation if the market is more liberal. Essentially, there is a positive relationship between the developments of alliances and the liberalization of air transport markets. It has been questioned that the US bilateral open skies agreements provide its carriers more access to the global market and countries that do not enter into such agreements with the US risk a loss of traffic. Consequently, open skies agreements may enable carriers who have the freedom to exercise market power to be dominant in the markets. This suggests that regulatory coordination and liberalization of international aviation reinforce each other and should therefore be pursued simultaneously.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aviation and Aeronautics
• /
• v.2
• /
• pp.101-118
• /
• 1994

미국의 항공운송산업 규제완화법(Airline Deregulation Act of 1978)에 의한 미국의 항공운송산업 자유화 정책은 미국의 국내 항공운송 시장의 환경을 철저한 경쟁의 원리가 적용되는 자유경쟁 시장으로 변화시켰으며, 국제 항공운송 시장에도 자유경쟁의 원리가 점진적으로 도입되는 계기를 마련하였다. 항공운송산업 자유화 정책은 항공사의 운송 시장 환경뿐만 아니라 그들이 이용하는 공항의 경제 환경에도 많은 변화를 가져왔다. 자유화가 공항의 경제에 미친 영향을 연구하기 위하여, 자유화 이후 공항에서 시장 합리화 (Market Rationalization)의 원리가 적용 되었는 가를 조사하였다. 이를 위해 (1) 자유화 이후, 공항료(Airport Rates and Charges)와 공항에서의 활동량 (the Volume of Activity) 간에 유의한 상관 관계가 존재하는 가의 여부 (2) 자유화 이전과 이후를 비교할 때, 각 Hub Class별 공항료의 수준에 있어 유의한 변화가 있는 가의 여부에 대한 통계 분석을 실시하였다. 상관분석의 결과, 자유화 이후, 공항료와 공항에서의 활동량 간에 유의한 상관 관계가 존재한다는 결론을 채택하는 데 실패하였으며 또한 일원 분산 분석의 결과, 자유화 이전과 이후를 비교할 때, 각 Hub Class별 공항료의 수준에 있어 유의한 변화가 있다는 결론을 제시할 수 없었다. 미국의 항공운송산업 자유화 정책이 미국 공항 경제에 미친 영향에 대한 본 연구는 현재 경제규제완화를 실험하고 있는 우리의 경제 정책에 좋은 참고자료가 되기를 기대한다.

• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.139-162
• /
• 2010

In terms of the international air transport, the open skies policy implies freedom in the sky or opening the sky. In the normative respect, the open skies policy is a kind of open-door policy which gives various forms of traffic right to other countries, but on the other hand it is a policy of free competition in the international air transport. Since the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, the United States has signed an open skies agreement with many countries, starting with the Netherlands, so that competitive large airlines can compete in the international air transport market where there exist a lot of business opportunities. South Korea now has an open skies agreement with more than 20 countries. The frequent flyer program (FFP) is part of a broad-based marketing alliance which has been used as an airfare strategy since the U.S. government's airline deregulation. The membership-based program is an incentive plan that provides mileage points to customers for using airline services and rewards customer loyalty in tangible forms based on their accumulated points. In its early stages, the frequent flyer program was focused on marketing efforts to attract customers, but now in the environment of intense competition among airlines, the program is used as an important strategic marketing tool for enhancing business performance. Therefore, airline companies agree that they need to identify customer needs in order to secure loyal customers more effectively. The outcomes from an airline's frequent flyer program can have a variety of effects on international competition. First, the airline can obtain a more dominant position in the air flight market by expanding its air route networks. Second, the availability of flight products for customers can be improved with an increase in flight frequency. Third, the airline can preferentially expand into new markets and thus gain advantages over its competitors. However, there are few empirical studies on the airline frequent flyer program. Accordingly, this study aims to explore the effects of the program on international competition, after reviewing the types of strategic alliance between airlines. Making strategic airline alliances is a worldwide trend resulting from the open skies policy. South Korea also needs to be making open skies agreements more realistic to promote the growth and competition of domestic airlines. The present study is about the performance of the airline frequent flyer program and international competition under the open skies policy. With a sample of five global alliance groups (Star, Oneworld, Wings, Qualiflyer and Skyteam), the study was attempted as an empirical study of the effects that the resource structures and levels of information technology held by airlines in each group have on the type of alliance, and one-way analysis of variance and regression analysis were used to test hypotheses. The findings of this study suggest that both large airline companies and small/medium-size airlines in an alliance group with global networks and organizations are able to achieve high performance and secure international competitiveness. Airline passengers earn mileage points by using non-flight services through an alliance network with hotels, car-rental services, duty-free shops, travel agents and more and show high interests in and preferences for related service benefits. Therefore, Korean airline companies should develop more aggressive marketing programs based on multilateral alliances with other services including hotels, as well as with other airlines.

• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.65-94
• /
• 2015

Since American Airlines launched AAdvantage which was the first Frequent Flyer Program in 1981, many people has accumulated mileage credits, and now, frequent flyer program(FFP) is the universal marketing tool to the airlines. These days, airlines establish a strategic alliance with domestic and foreign companies of various fields ; other airlines, travel agencies, car hire firms, hotels, department stores, even credit card companies. However, more people want to use their mileage credits, more airlines reject to approve that or change frequent flyer program against their customers. Last year, Northwest, Inc. v. Ginsberg, the United State Supreme Court made a decision that the preemption provision of Airlines Deregulation Act(ADA) preempts state laws related to rates, routes and services for air carriers including implied covenant of good faith and fare dealing. Thus, the claim of Ginsberg was canceled, it means that Northwest Inc. could terminated one-sidedly his membership in the frequent flyer program. In the contrast, Korea does not have the statute like ADA. If customers file a claim on FFP like Ginsberg, the courts of Korea judge whether the clauses of standard form contract are unfair or not. Therefore, in this article, Ginsberg would be checked on legal issues and be compared briefly with the courts' ruling in Korea.