The data included interline trips with thousands of foreign endpoints. The UI economist found that the average round-trip fare was 8 to 17 percent lower among airlines that cooperated in a partnership than those that did not. What's more, fares dropped an additional 13 percent sometimes more when airlines enjoyed immunity from antitrust laws and could charge whatever they liked. The exact fares depended on the demand for travel on a specific route. Air alliances reduce fares because carriers can extend their networks without the cost of operating more flights, Brueckner said.
Alliances also encourage coordinated flight schedules and better use of ground personnel.
Prior to the growth of airline alliances, fares among carriers were set by the International Air Transport Association on a distance-based formula. HiDee Ekstrom University of Michigan Provost Nancy Cantor, left, greets a well-wisher at her introductory reception as the next chancellor. On Aug. 21 Cantor will become the first female and seventh chancellor of the flagship campus of the University of Illinois. News Bureau, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 807 South Wright Street.