Air travel within Europe

1. The Purpose and Scope of This Survey

Aviation is a field which has been completely dominated by producers for the past two decades, with all decisions being made behind closed doors. A discussion is needed to put forward the consumer's point of view, as air travel, directly or indirectly, affects everyone's way of life. Such a discussion requires first of all a description of the air travel market and present market conditions ; second, a critical analysis of this market and its institutional framework as seen from the consumer's viewpoint ; and third, a recomcendation of the changes which in the consumer's opinion are necessary.

The basis of the firt must be a survey of the fare structure, but such a survey is very difficult to make, to put it mildly, since air routes all over the world are inter - connected ; thus, the Scandinavian network and its air fares are tied up with the European network and air fares, whilst they in turn are related to the transoceanic networks and air fares. Another difficulty is the existence of a number of different types of fares and discounts. ( ... )

Excerpt from page No. 1.