Inside Airline JVs - How Do They Work And How To Extract Most Value From Them?

There are more JVs involving Asia than any other market. Yet these JVs range significantly in scope of markets and cooperation. This discussion explores how airlines see the strategy, value and potential of JVs. This includes the level of cooperation of JVs, from JVs where one airline flies all intercontinental flights (Singapore Airlines-SAS) to JVs with anti-trust immunity (ANA-United, JAL-American). JVs with Chinese airlines are growing but are still at an early phase.

• What’s the difference between a revenue-sharing and profit-sharing JV?
• Are airlines interested in region-to-region JVs like those across the Atlantic or do partners have different interests? Is it a regulatory problem?
• Asian airlines are typically bigger on intercontinental routes than their foreign peers, but worry a deal may be unfair as their more experienced partner cuts a perceived better deal. How do airline relationships need to evolve to support JVs?
• What is the role of global alliances? Can they accommodate JVs between members and non-members? What happens when a member is excluded from a JV between other members, or that JV precludes a participating member from codesharing with a member not in the JV?
• Can there be regional JVs?
• What is the risk of North America-Asia JVs overlapping with North America-Europe JVs for beyond markets, such as India?