U.S. airlines are competing for a market advantage in the United States and Asia, between floors of the United States and the Government of Japan to ease restrictions on decades of access to the old airport through an agreement “opened.
Continental Airlines, the airline back to Newark Liberty International Airport, is one of several airlines that could benefit from an easing of these restrictions. Continental is trying to connect two of its Star Alliance partners, United Airlines and All Nippon Airways, the second largest carrier in Japan, in a trans-Pacific joint venture, which must be sanctioned by the government’s immunity against antitrust laws prohibit collusion on prices and other programs against competitive behavior.
The bill would allow Continental to seize more opportunities to take off and landing in Tokyo, extending the network to achieve closer cooperation with other airlines and increase revenue.
The company, if approved by the Ministry of Transport, may lead to more flights between the U.S. and Japan, perhaps including Newark. Stress can also make it possible for American tourists Tokyo to establish more quickly to more than 50 airports around the Pacific in Japan, China and South Korea.
E ‘allows companies to work together to provide better pricing and programming options, “said Hershel Kamen, vice president of policy and regulatory affairs for Continental Airlines. “The consumer ends up with more options. Basically means that there is no distinction between the airline operating the plane.”
Lower prices may be due to the double mark-up rate in typical ways vaccinated – when two companies work together, but it handy for passengers in action – would be eliminated, Kamen said.
The joint venture will be similar to the trans-Atlantic plan approved last year by the DOT for Continental, United, Lufthansa and Air Canada, dropped from an open skies agreement between the United States and the European Union. It ‘still planning.
Once the company operates, the companies will be able to share their customers and revenue as if they were a single airline.
Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, respectively, and the second largest American companies are competing to match the dominant player in Japan, Japan Airlines Corp. The Japanese company is on the brink of bankruptcy, and Delta and American reject the competing offers to help out of trouble. Delta, the airline of the United States stronger in Japan, JAL has offered $ 1 billion and seeks to change its oneworld SkyTeam partnership. Oneworld Member States as well as private equity firm TPG, JAL offers $ 1.4 billion, more than a guaranteed annual income, in order to avoid the passage. O U.S. carrier would seek antitrust immunity for trans-Pacific venture, once JAL chooses sides.
If all this sounds complicated, it is. And for the airlines, the risks are enormous.
Skies “The world is very competitive and open dissemination,” said Gary Dorman, vice president Airline and expert in antitrust NERA Economic Consulting. Just as mobile phone companies push to expand their networks with cellular towers addition to providing consumers with greater access and more reasons to join, encourage airlines to expand their networks and add customers, “he said.
Antitrust laws to prevent monopolies and price gouging, in part, by forbidding companies to price collusion on its way to greater cooperation between airlines, as nations attempt to lay the old barriers to trade and travel. The same applies to the protectionist laws that make it difficult for airlines in different countries to join. Immunized alliances are a means to circumvent these obstacles, Dorman said.
Aviation experts, for example, and the regulators have agreed that no collusion in the market for international air passenger market price is always bad for consumers. You can open the market and exert downward pressure on prices, provided that the cooperation of the airlines face significant competition in a route. This is because companies that customers can share with antitrust immunity are designed to eliminate the marking of prices that characterize the conventional code-sharing agreements between airlines double.
Addition, companies can achieve cost efficiencies to schedule flights in a cooperative manner, management capacity and partition backup systems and other resources.
International companies are eager to be included in immunized alliances to look for financial means to increase revenue. The industry expects to lose 5 billion U.S. dollars in 2010 worldwide, after losing about 11 billion years, according to the International Air Transport.
The members of the Trans-Pacific Company, said that, if granted immunity, there is much competition in the United States and the Tokyo market for Delta, Korean Air, JAL and Cathay Pacific, among others.
“We hope that [DOT] standard [on of] some time before the end of summer,” said Kamen.
For regulators to weigh the merits of requests for immunity of carriers is “balance,” said Dorman.
“There are obvious trade-off,” he said. “May immunity limit competition on certain routes. On the other hand, allow companies to offer low prices with a service, because you can talk about price, I could not do before.”
The expectation of an open skies agreement “with Japan, the United States, companies would have access to Haneda airport in Tokyo for the first time in more than 30 years, and increase access to Narita Airport in Tokyo, has recently expanded its runway to allow more flights.
‘It is too early to say “that the centers of Continental may get more flights to Japan, Kamen said.
Once the carriers are approved by the Transportation Department could begin to share confidential information to start planning seriously to work on some routes, timetables and fares. The agency may allow carriers to 18 months from the date of approval to start the company, as he did with the team members venture Trans Atlantic Star ‘, “said Kamen.
“The goal is to develop markets and add more flights,” he said. “On the side of the Atlantic, since it was announced that approval, we started in Houston and Newark, the flight to Frankfurt, Monaco di Baviera. Soon, we have added flights. [Partners] provide new routes and new frequencies” says Kamen.
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