ABSTRACT
Air transport and leisure tourism have developed in the last decades of the 20th century on parallel interdependent courses. The two have a symbiotic relationship inextricably linked by mutual dependence with the one fostering the development of the other. A survey of international arrivals in a group of twenty major countries indicates that over 70 per cent of international tourists arrive by air (UNWTO 2000). Catalysts for these changes were globalisation, the deregulation/liberalisation of the air transport and the concomitant increased use of information and communication technologies. Section two of this chapter highlights the role of network carriers in serving leisure and travel demand. Section three then discusses changes in leisure travel patterns and the impact of airline alliances. Subsequently, section four presents business challenges in the airline industry and the arising implications for alliances; finally, section five concludes.
