Research On Antimonopoly Law Regulations Of Airline Alliance

With the rapid development of aviation technology,the continuous deepening of market opening and integration,and the acceleration of the process of economic globalization,the social and economic exchanges among countries are increasing,andthe demand for the development and innovation of the air transport industry is also growing.In the era of market regionalization and global competition,the aviation industry is facing not only the contradiction between rapid market growth and unbalanced supply,but also the challenges and opportunities brought about by the deepened reform.As an important strategy for enterprise development,the airline alliance has a far-reaching impact on airlines and is an important way for the airlines to achieve rapid expansion,accelerate internationalization,and integrate with international development.The emergence and development of the airline alliance has fundamentally changed the competition situation of airlines,which has had a significant impact on the domestic and international air transport market.In short,the airline alliance is an important means for major airlines around the world to strengthen their market competitiveness,and has a positive effect on improving operational capabilities,expanding market share,and promoting industrial development.At the same time,the alliance’s business strategy has also led to a higher concentration of the air transport market,making the relevant competition law issues prominent.Therefore,as far as the research level is concerned,the anti-monopoly regulation of the aviation alliance aims at giving full play to the role of the competition law,realizing the normative development of the airline alliance,safeguarding the competition pattern of the air transport industry,and protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.The discussion of this topic has important theoretical significance on the topic selection and it is also of great value in practice.This paper is divided into seven parts.The first chapter is an introduction.This chapter mainly elaborates the research significance of the topic of anti-monopoly regulation of the airline alliance.In addition to enriching the theoretical value of anti-monopoly law,the study of the anti-monopoly regulation of the airline alliance has the practical significance on protecting the legitimate rights and interests of consumers,promoting the rapid and healthy development of China’s air transport industry,and improving its international competitiveness.At the same time,this chapter makes a literature review of the documents collected in the process of thesis writing,reviews previous scholars’analysis of the background,historical influence,legal background and other issues of the airline alliance,and points out that the current domestic academic community has not discussed and studied the anti-monopoly regulation for airline alliance systematically and deeply so far,thus highlighting the theoretical and practical value of this topic.In terms of research methods,the paper uses a variety of methods such as comparative analysis,economic analysis,empirical analysis,and interest balance method to make a comprehensive analysis.The innovation of this paper is the establishment of a complete research framework and system for anti-monopoly regulation of the airline alliance.The second chapter introduced the airline alliance under the anti-monopoly context.First,this chapter elaborated the cause of the airline alliance,which was driven by the external environment and internal self-interest.Secondly,it defined the concept and legal attributes of the airline alliance.The airline alliance is a relatively stable interest community formed by the airlines through the signing of cooperation agreements.It belongs to the monopoly agreement under the framework of the anti-monopoly law.Thirdly,it analyzed the different behaviors of the airline alliance based on different types of cooperation agreements,mainly including:code sharing,air routes co-operating,equity investment,CRS cooperation,mutual recognition of regular flyers.The third chapter introduced the logical path of the anti-monopoly regulation of airline alliance.First,it elaborated on the legal basis of anti-monopoly regulation of the airline alliance.Only when the anti-monopoly law applies to the air transport industry will the airline alliance be regulated by the anti-monopoly regulation.Secondly,it clearly pointed out that the airline alliance,as a special form of monopoly agreement,should follow the basic rules of the regulation of the monopoly agreement,that is "general prohibition,exception exemption".Then it analyzed the judgment method of the illegality of the airline alliance.Taking into account the positive and negative dual effects of the airline alliance,it usually analyzed the case us:ing rational principles,but the core cartel in the name of the alliance is an exception.Finally,it defined the relevant market and market forces.Anti-monopoly law enforcement agencies usually reviewed all route networks of alliance members as the entire relevant market,and classified the specific route markets,usually taking into account consumer groups,service types,geographic locations,modes of transportation and other factors.After the determination the scope of competition through market definition,combined with the market power the alliance possesses,it is then possible to judge whether or not a specific behavior the alliance made is beneficial or harmful to competition,so as to assess whether the impact of this behavior on competition should be subject to anti-monopoly regulation.The fourth chapter introduced the anti-monopoly analysis of the behavior of the airline alliance.After sorting out the regulatory paths,it is necessary to make a detailed analysis based on the basic theory of anti-monopoly law and the cooperative characteristics of various behaviors as well as the impact on the competition.First,the behavior of the airline alliance was made by major airlines through the implementation of the signed alliance agreement,and its forms varied.Secondly,in practice,the most typical form of cooperation in the aviation alliance is code sharing,air routes co-operating,equity investment,and CRS cooperation.These are also acts that directly infringe on the interests of consumers.Each behavior has a different basis for the impact of competition based on its characteristics.Finally,after confirming the competitive effects of various behaviors,it is necessary to examine whether there are any justifications for the existence of efficiency.The fifth chapter introduced the anti-monopoly regulation model of the airline alliance.First,taking into account the positive and negative effects of airline alliances on competition,the regulatory attitudes of the law enforcement agencies of countries are usually to recognize their role in the realization of public interest and efficiency,unless the purpose of their alliance is to exclude or restrict competition obviously.Secondly,in terms of supervisory procedures,law enforcement agencies in various countries generally adopt post-regulation supervision over monopoly agreements,that is,market players make their own judgments according to the circumstances stipulated by law.However,in the United States,because the air transport industry has public transport attributes,the US Department of Transportation requires that all alliance agreements be submitted for approval.At the same time,the alliance can also apply to the Department of Transportation for exemption from the anti-monopoly regulation.The Ministry of Justice will examine the applied alliance agreement,and provide advice to the Ministry of Transportation on relevant competition issues.The Ministry of Transportation will generally make a restrictive approval after considering the opinions of the Ministry of Justice.The EU adopts the traditional mode of post-regulation supervision.The alliance does not need to submit their alliance agreement in advance.However,whether it is regulated by the anti-monopoly law requires the investigation of Commission,which ultimately the determined its punishment or exemption.In order to limit the anti-competitive effects of the airline alliance,the European Commission will require its members to promise to perform certain restrictive remedial measures while minimizing their impact on competition.Finally,it compared the legal systems of the two major jurisdictions and elaborated the reference significance for China’s anti-monopoly regulation of airline alliance.The sixth chapter introduced the current situation and perfection of China’s anti-monopoly regulation of the airline alliance.First,it elaborated the status:quo of the legal regulation of the monopoly behavior of the aviation alliance from the legislative and law enforcement levels.Judging from the current legal provisions and the open law enforcement situation,there are problems with weak operability and lack of law enforcement.Secondly,it analyzed the law enforcement dilemma that causes the lack of the law enforcement.The dilemma mainly includes lack of law enforcement resources and the difficulty to identify the monopoly behavior.Finally,based on the issues mentioned above,this chapter proposed suggestions to improve legislation and law enforcement of China’s anti-monopoly regulation to help solve a series of competitive issues caused by the airline alliance.The seventh chapter is the conclusion.This chapter makes conclusive summary regarding the problems in the anti-monopoly regulations of aviation alliance and establishes anti-monopoly regulation framework of aviation alliance conforming to the situation of our country.