Employment Policy and Deregulation in European Air Transport

The air transport industry in Europe in the present decade isyfacing an increasingly competitive environment. With prolongedyrecession and the prospect of a common aviation area within theysingle market of the European Community, airlines are exposedyto levels of competition from which they have been previouslyysheltered. These changed operating circumstances have led Euro-ypean airlines to review their cost structures, and in particularylabour costs, which constitute a major cost item under directymanagement control. In the United States increased competitionyin the 1980s following on the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act,ytransformed a hitherto largely non-labour sensitive industry intoya highly labour-sensitive one. The article examines recentyemployment policy developments in European airlines and con-ysiders the extent to which they mirror those witnessed in theyderegulated United States industry.