The role of strategic airline alliances in Africa

This paper looks at the impacts of strategic airline alliances on African aviation. Globally, there has been an on-going trend towards airlines coordinating their activities via strategic alliances and joint ventures. These alliances affect market competition including the quality and costs of the services provided. Despite the economic benefits found in prior analyses of alliances in other markets there has been very limited study of alliance participation by African airlines. Our analysis suggests, among other things, that membership of one of the three global alliances could benefit African airlines, add to their passenger flows, and enhance regional economic integration