L’accordo Open Skies EU-US: una prima valutazione degli effetti per l’Italia

The aim of the paper is to evaluate the effects of the eU-U.S. open skies agreement
on the italy U.S. air transportation market. the eU-U.S. open skies agreement, which
came into force in march 2008, is an important example of the liberalization of the air
transport industry the goal of which is to improve consumer welfare. enabling any european
carrier and any U.S. airline to fly between eU and U.S. destinations without restrictions
on frequencies and fares is the first step in creating an eU-U.S. open aviation
area. this agreement harmonizes the fragmented and diversified regulation on transatlantic
market access in eU countries. the study focuses on passenger traffic in terms
of both direct flights and one-stop flights from italy to the U.S. to analyze the changes
in competition and service quality induced by the eU-U.S. open skies agreement. a
pre- and post deregulation comparison of the transatlantic market highlights that the
number of flights and destinations decreased, while the service coverage in italy improved.
moreover, although the number of carriers offering transatlantic services decreased,
fewer routes are monopolized by only one carrier.