Leading international aviation towards globalization: The new relationship among carrier alliances, open skies treaties and antitrust immunity

Deregulation, liberalization, competition and globalization are concepts that are closely linked to today's international air transport. With the aim of adapting to this new competitive environment, carriers have in the past years joined forces and developed international carriers alliances.;As a result, antitrust immunity to carrier alliances was granted by the United States in order for carriers to "merge" their activities without an actual merger, prohibited under the present regime, or without risking violation of antitrust laws. This thesis will discuss the basis of antitrust immunity in the United States, as well as the different carrier alliances that have received antitrust immunity from the US Department of Transport.;The European Union, and certain national authorities, are presently reviewing alliances---involving a European carrier---that received antitrust immunity in the U.S. The different issues raised by such reviews will be examined in the present thesis.;Carrier alliances, antitrust immunity and open skies treaties are all closely linked. Although having involved, to date, carriers and agencies from two continents, the effects are being felt around the world. This thesis will try to describe this new relation, focusing primarily on antitrust immunity.