The recession has caused a seismic shift in the airline industry with a loss of demand and revenues previously unimaginable. As a result, airlines have been forced to rethink policy and airline alliances have become increasingly important as a means of maintaining existing customers. They are also being used to provide strength in numbers for changing aviation legislation worldwide. Alliances can offer airlines opportunities normally afforded by a merger such as access to different routes, and economies of scale in terms of joint lounges and marketing campaigns. It is also a way of overcoming regulatory barriers which often restrict mergers. Despite this, some key names such as Delta & Northwest and Lufthansa & Brussels Airlines still chose to merge in 2008, and oneworld's British Airways and Iberia in 2009.

The big three international alliances, Star Alliance, SkyTeam and oneworld, together account for over 60% of all possible flights throughout the world. For customers one of the main benefits is that alliances offer their members joint loyalty programmes, where passengers benefit in terms of service and air miles, by staying faithful to alliance airlines. In turn for the airlines, loyalty and maintaining customers is seen as key to ongoing survival in the downturn. Loyalty programmes have become a critical tool to maintaining customers and revenues for airlines, and a key aspect of an alliance is the overlapping nature of its member airlines' loyalty programmes. Customers benefit from sticking to flying with one alliance as points and miles are transferable. However, the fragmented nature of the programmes means that the alliances themselves can only offer limited benefits to flyers, usually restricted to airport services.

Global Airline Alliances - Safety in Numbers report offers a comprehensive guide to the market at an international level. It looks at travel accommodation, transportation, car rental, tourist attractions and retail travel.

Global Airline Alliances - Safety in Numbers report identifies the leading companies and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the global airline market, including background information on disposable income, annual leave and holiday taking habits.

Buy online to access strategic market analysis and an interactive statistical database of market size data for travel accommodation, transportation, car rental, travel retail, tourism attractions and health and wellness tourism, tourism inflows and outflows, tourism spending and company and brand shares.

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Regional coverage

Western Europe; Eastern Europe; North America; Latin America; Asia-Pacific; Oceania; Africa and the Middle East.

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