Strategic airline alliances: governance, selective integration, and networks of networks

Sascha Albers, Steven van den Oord, Benjamin Koch and Tobias Mandt

Chapter 20 in Research Handbook on Air Transport Leadership and Governance, 2025, pp 323-338 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The airline industry has long been a role model for creating and running multilateral strategic alliances. Although Star Alliance, SkyTeam, and Oneworld have grown and have been considered highly effective, these multilateral alliances are now under debate. An increasing number of metal-neutral joint ventures – that is, more in-depth integration attempts between alliance members and some selected partners – have emerged that bypass existing multilateral alliance structures. We argue that multilateral alliances will maintain an essential role for airlines but in combination with metal-neutral joint ventures. The key to leveraging their full potential lies in the effective design of their governance systems, which must go beyond classical types. Therefore, we propose a so-called network of networks understanding of airline alliance strategies that will incorporate multiple and different integration approaches to develop and discuss governance options for airlines and their alliance portfolios. Current debates about the end of strategic airline alliances are premature.

Keywords: Airline; Alliance; Network; Strategy; Governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781803926971
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