| Air transportation is, by its very nature, one of the most international economic activities. However, the regulatory framework of international air transport services has for decades been dominated by narrow, nationalistic views. The increasing globalisation and trans-nationalisation of international trade in general and airline activities in particular question this status quo and puts pressure on the regulators to create a liberal framework, in which airlines can co-operate without impediments.; This thesis looks at the current trends in the liberalisation of international air transport services. In a first step, the world-wide developments are discussed, in particular "open skies" and regionalism. Then, by using the US-German civil aviation relations as an example, the methods and motives of liberalisation in a bilateral relationship are analysed. In a last step the driving forces behind liberalisation of air transport services are discussed, a new approach towards aviation is proposed and an outlook is given on the prospects for future aviation agreements. |
