The Airline Industry: Facing The Challenges Of The 21st Century

The last quarter of the twentieth century has seen vast change in the transport sectors of many countries, imposing much dislocation on both people and companies engaged in the provision of transport services. Some of the problems have resulted from macroeconomic instabilities like the Asian financial crisis of 1997 and 9/11 in 2001 but most have been the product of changes within the industry. These sometimes-harsh transformations have contributed much to broader social welfare by strengthening exporters' competitiveness significantly, by making possible improvements in the variety and price of goods available to local consumers, and by reducing the burden of transport on government budgets. However, in the Western Hemisphere, North America Airlines have been brutalized by these 21st century changes coupled with External shocks such as oil price increases and more recently acts of blatant terrorism.