The Pros And Cons Of Global Airline Strategic Alliances

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Global Airline Strategic Alliances are “long term partnership[s] of two or more firms who attempt to enhance competitive advantages collectively vis-à-vis their competitors, by sharing scarce resources including brand assets and market access capability, enhancing service quality, and thereby, improving profitability” (Oum, Park and Zhang, 2000, p. 5). According to the 2007 Airline Alliance Business Survey (AABS) (the latest available data) there are some 120 main passenger airlines co-operating in close to 500 alliances worldwide (Flight Global, 2014). These alliances include Star Alliance (including major players, such as Swiss Airlines, All Nippon Airways and Lufthansa), Sky Team and One World Alliance. The level of co-operation recorded …show more content…

The purpose of this essay is to assess the benefits and disadvantages to airlines of participating in Global Airline Strategic Alliances (GASA), examining in particular how membership of a GASA could potentially help or conflict with an airline's other strategic initiatives and how membership could potentially add value to the service an airline provides to its …show more content…

Perhaps the clearest evidence linking GASA participation with profitability is found in a report by Gellman Research Associates in 1994 (most of the empirical research examining the financial benefits of global strategic alliances is from the 1990s, when many of these alliances were first established). Based on data on two alliances (between Northwest and KLM and British Airways and US Air), the study uncovered evidence of substantial market share and net profitability gains for all partners. These quantitative findings were supported by the results of qualitative research with airline officials at those same airlines, as well as at several other international airlines involved in strategic alliances (British Midland and United Airlines; United Airlines an Lufthansa, and United Airlines and Ansett Australia). Airline managers agreed that participation in the alliance derived for the airline increased traffic, revenues, and profitability, and that these gains came at the expense of non-aligned carriers (US General Accounting Office,

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