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How Does The Government Affect The Airline Industry

Decent Essays

One of the world’s most competitive and prominent industries is the airlines industry. It generates huge amounts of income as well as employment each year. Some of the common names in US air travel service providers are Alaska, Northwest, Southwest, US airways, American etc.
According to the latest statistics given by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the airline sector will post a profit of $9 billion in 2011. After the recent credit crunch, economies are now coming back to normal, business travel is increasing and investments in the airlines are now rising.
Political/Legal influences
Privatization
Over the years airlines have undergone large-scale privatization; previously a significant portion of airlines …show more content…

Government policies
Fiscal policies of the government can have significant impact on the industry’s performance. Governments generally impose high taxes on airline industry, which is passed on to the customers in the form of higher air fares, alternatively airlines reduce the number of staff is cut down costs. An example is United Kingdom, when the UK government imposed high taxes on the aviation industry, the number of cargo operators reduced sharply in order to reduce costs (My-Efficient-Planet, 2010).
On the other hand governments support aviation industry by building airports, roads and hotels near airports, because they recognize this industry as an important ingredient for economic well-being. In addition governments arrange security at the airports to ensure safe journey. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 have had negative implications for the industry. Over the years, all the airlines have changed their routes, marketing tactics and prices; they are also making an effort to reduce the fear and negative image associated with air-planes. Governments have imposed strict security checks on air travel passengers in order to avoid any unforeseen terrorist activity.
Economic forces
GDP
The growth of airline industry in any country is directly proportional to its GDP growth; the greater the business activity, the more air travel and the higher the GDP of the country. The demand

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