Cooperation as a Tool for Improving Air Carriers’ Competitiveness Under Conditions of Globalization

The study is aimed at examining the phenomenon of the increasing consolidation in the global air passenger market. The authors proposed a classification of the forms of horizontal cooperation within the airline industry and developed an instrument for assessing the level of cooperation and dependence of air carriers under various forms of interaction. The tendency of the traditional airline alliance model towards diversification of forms of strategic cooperation with low-cost carriers is justified. The processes of budget airlines consolidation in Southeast Asia are discussed. Fierce competition in this region acts as a catalyst for appearance of new forms of low-cost airlines interaction. The authors put forward a hypothesis about similar business unions emerging in other geographic segments of the international air passenger market.