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Complementary versus semi-complementary airline partnerships

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  • Bilotkach, Volodymyr

Abstract

As low-cost airlines or carriers excluded from international markets by regulation may seek to expand internationally in an indirect way through code-sharing agreements, they can choose partner airlines from among domestic or international carriers. The former case results in a semi-complementary partnership, while in the latter a classic complementary alliance is formed. This paper compares welfare properties of the two types of partnerships under economies of traffic density. Semi-complementary partnerships yield higher total welfare (but not necessarily lower prices) when economies of traffic density are strong, demand is more price-sensitive, or where a carrier feeding domestic traffic to international routes is a lower cost one.

Suggested Citation

  • Bilotkach, Volodymyr, 2007. "Complementary versus semi-complementary airline partnerships," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 381-393, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transb:v:41:y:2007:i:4:p:381-393
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Volodymyr Bilotkach, 2019. "Airline Partnerships, Antitrust Immunity, and Joint Ventures: What We Know and What I Think We Would Like to Know," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 54(1), pages 37-60, February.
    2. Volodymyr Bilotkach & Kai Hüschelrath, 2013. "Airline Alliances, Antitrust Immunity, and Market Foreclosure," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(4), pages 1368-1385, October.
    3. Wang, Kun & Xia, Wenyi & Zhang, Anming & Zhang, Qiong, 2018. "Effects of train speed on airline demand and price: Theory and empirical evidence from a natural experiment," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 99-130.
    4. Bilotkach, Volodymyr & Hüschelrath, Kai, 2012. "Airline alliances and antitrust policy: The role of efficiencies," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 76-84.
    5. Xia, Wenyi & Zhang, Anming, 2016. "High-speed rail and air transport competition and cooperation: A vertical differentiation approach," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 456-481.
    6. de Jong, Gerben & Behrens, Christiaan & van Herk, Hester & Verhoef, Erik, 2022. "Airfares with codeshares: (why) are consumers willing to pay more for products of foreign firms with a domestic partner?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 1-18.
    7. Alves, Vera & Forte, Rosa, 2015. "A Cournot model for analysing the effects of an open skies agreement," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 125-134.
    8. Keisuke Hattori & Lin Ming Hsin, 2014. "Complementary Alliances in Composite Good Markets with Network Structure," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 82(1), pages 33-51, January.
    9. Cristina Barbot, 2012. "Opening Ground Handling Markets to Competition: Effects on Welfare," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 46(4), pages 536-546, November.
    10. Bilotkach, Volodymyr & Hüschelrath, Kai, 2019. "Balancing competition and cooperation: Evidence from transatlantic airline markets," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 1-16.
    11. Jiang, Changmin & Zhang, Anming, 2014. "Effects of high-speed rail and airline cooperation under hub airport capacity constraint," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 33-49.
    12. John Francis O’Connell & David Connolly, 2017. "The strategic evolution of Aer Lingus from a full-service airline to a low-cost carrier and finally positioning itself into a value hybrid airline," Tourism Economics, , vol. 23(6), pages 1296-1320, September.
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