Characteristics of Major Air Travel Markets

United States	Europe	Pacific Asia
Deregulation started in 1978	Deregulation started in 1997	Regulated markets with government ownership
Low population density and dispersed urban centers	High population density and concentrated urban centers	Dispersion of urban centers but high regional concentrations
Relatively open air spaces and airports	Congested air spaces and airports	Congested gateway airports underutilized regional airports
Rail minor competitor; Car compete for short distances	High speed rail is a direct competitor; Rail is a minor competitor; Car compete for short distances	Except for Japan, less competition from other transportation modes
No loyalty to carriers (pricing and frequent flyers)	Some lingering loyalty to carriers	Strong “imposed” loyalty to carriers
Price transparency	Price becoming transparent	Price not transparent
Limited income growth and limited leisure	Limited income growth and more leisure time	Growing income levels

Source: adapted from Randy Baseler (2003) “Market Outlook for Air Travel: A Global Perspective”, 2nd Annual MIT Airline Industry - Washington DC Conference.

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