Strategic alliances and code-share agreements as significant elements of air transport globalisation within market economy

Abstract

Along with the processes of air transport liberalisation and globalisation, there is a continuous need for searching new forms of cooperation between transport companies and constant coordination of market relations. In this area, multilateral alliances and bilateral air transport agreements are important, as they constitute crucial mechanisms which consequently enable to increase the number of  benefits from these partnerships. The range of such air transport agreements mainly involves improvements of the air transport market, because it stimulates the income of all subjects which take part in passengers’ service, namely haulers, travel agencies and other companies responsible for production for air sector. In this system, mutual benefits between all cooperating subjects are fulfilled as one stream of income that is generated by the air transport market without which the existence and development of the abovementioned subjects is impossible and meaningless. Thus, revenues of non-aeronautical subjects is highly dependent on the economies of scale of transport. Apparently, this obvious fact constitutes one of indices of the air transport market characteristics and effectively of its transformations in the 21^st century. The purpose of this paper is to show the importance of partnership and code-share agreements within the development of air transport globalisation by using critical analysis of literature, observing functioning of subjects which construct the global market of air transport, and formulating conclusions and recommendations through deduction.