This book addresses emerging legal and economic issues in competition and investment in air
transport against the backdrop of the role governments and airlines should play in avoiding
protectionism and encouraging innovation and creativity. It evaluates current trends in air
transport and the direction the industry is taking in the twenty first century. There are
discussions on key aspects of air transport such as safety assurance and environmental
protection as they are impacted by competition. The rapid evolution of aerospace transport and
its effect on competition in air transport is also examined. A recurring theme of the book is
the influence of creative destruction and disruptive innovation on air transport. This is
addressed through an in-depth study of the contentious areas of law relating to the abuse of
dominant positions and state aid as reflected in the ongoing claim by the three largest US
carriers against Gulf carriers such as Emirates Airlines Etihad and Qatar Airways. The US
carriers claim that Emirates and Etihad - which operate air services into the United States by
virtue of an open-skies agreement between the US and The United Arab Emirates - are using
generous subsidies given to them by their governments to illegally capture the legitimate
market belonging to the US carriers. These issues are clarified in the book using analyses of
competition law and investment law as they apply to air transport free-trade-agreement
analogies and an open-skies case study.
