MANAGEMENT OF STRATEGIC COOPETITION AMONG PARTNERS WITHIN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE ALLIANCES

Background: International network-carriers span the globe by linking airports on all five continents. At the core of those networks are hub-airports that serve as the centers for (inter-) national in-and outbound traffic flows. From a business model point of view, the major international carriers are so-called network-carriers, for their core concept is based on transfer-oriented hub-and-spoke-systems. In order to maximize revenue streams of network-carriers, changes in strategic slot allocation and strategic net planning are becoming increasingly relevant. The aim of this work was to analyze the impact of various elements of the management of strategic coopetition among partners within international airline alliances on the revenues obtained by individual partners. Methods: the problems related to the optimization of strategic slot allocation and strategic net planning from the point of view of the individual profit shared and added net contribution margins were discussed. Results and conclusions: Two extreme scenarios may be projected. The first one is that partners within a given alliance system may start to increase merger and acquisition activities. Thereby scale effects may be utilized. The other one is, when rivalry becomes too dominant over time, some partners may (have to) exit alliance systems. Thereby "atomic" subsystems may be on the rebound. Strategic coopetition management is aimed to keep leading international network carriers "on track" in the field of alliance management of that nature.