Airline privatisation requires track record of profitability and no government interference

As with other industries, airline privatisation tends to be motivated broadly by the desire to access private sector capital, private sector management or both. Working against this is the desire of governments to retain ownership of their national airline as an extension of economic policy, whether for reasons of maintaining connectivity or for less defined reasons of national pride.

The required balance between these aims (and foreign ownership limits) determines the approach to privatisation. A public listing of shares or a trade sale? Sale of all or only part of the state's shareholding?