ABSTRACT
Civil aviation in EU makes a very important contribution to the European economy.2 The actual significant scale, notwithstanding the economic downturn, is mainly a consequence of the liberalization of air transport in the 1990s and the creation of an internal open market. The increase in the number of airlines is clearly a sign of the dynamic nature of the sector especially in consideration of the several carriers that have been taken over or ceased trading in the meantime.3 Consumers have been the principal beneficiaries of the EU liberalization of the airline industry as this policy has led to more routes, greater choice and an increased overall quality of service. As to market equilibrium, the almost full liberalization of the aviation sector and airports and the free market access regime for intra-Community routes has made it possible for newcomers to join the market, making life difficult for the monopoly power of the national flag carriers. Some of these carriers were suffering badly from the “distressed state airlines syndrome” (Doganis, 2001), since their corporate culture, focused on rent exploitation in un-contestable markets, could not adjust to the mechanism of the free market system and related competitive environment (Autorità Garante, 2005).
