ABSTRACT
Airlines have long been used to the cyclical nature of their industry given that economic upswings and downswings in world economy have increased in both frequency and amplitude while at the same time air traffic demand has tripled in the last 35 years. This chapter argues that the incumbent systems fail in delivering balanced results for both system partners and they especially lack the necessary flexibility to adapt to the changing market requirements. In April 2002, Frankfurt Airport and the Board of Airline Representatives in Germany, the German Air Carrier Association and Lufthansa signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the future development of airport charges for the term between the year 2002 and 2006. Similar to Hamburg, it was important to the airlines that along with privatisation of Frankfurt Airport a mechanism was established to prevent monopoly abuse and make privatisation acceptable.
