Air carrier ownership and control revisited

As the airline industry is in the midst of an economic crisis, air carrier ownership and control rules that have governed international air transport relations for the last fifty years have become subject to increased revision. Those rules impede the free flow of capital and airline consolidation across borders. Airlines have limited opportunities to structure their operations to serve global markets. Most importantly, the rules restrict the strategic choices available to ailing airlines and impede the restructuring of the industry. Particularly in the European Union, where liberalization is limited by restrictive ownership requirements included in bilateral agreements with third countries, airline consolidation and rationalisation through mergers and acquisitions is badly needed.Impetus for liberalization emanates from the recent judgments of the European Court of Justice in the "Open Skies", which created the opportunity to revisit the entire ownership and control framework on a global scale. The Fifth ICAO Worldwide Air Transport Conference (ATConf/5) provided States with a forum to discuss and bring about change. Finally, the industry itself is pushing towards the liberalization of ownership restrictions that prevent it from operating like any other industry sector.This thesis provides a review of the recent developments in the field of air carrier ownership and control. The focus is on a critical analysis of the outcome of ATConf/5. In particular, it will examine the significance of ATConf/5 for the development of ownership and control issues in air transport relations between the EU and third States and ultimately for the restructuring of the EU airline industry