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An analysis of price competition and price wars in Australia's domestic airline market

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  • Ma, Wenliang
  • Wang, Qiang
  • Yang, Hangjun
  • Zhang, Yahua

Abstract

Price cuts and price wars, a frequent phenomenon in Australia's domestic airline market that have been widely reported in the Australian news media, are documented in this research. This paper examines the determinants of price wars in Australia using monthly data from 72 airline routes for the period from January 2013 to August 2017. Our finding is consistent with the widely held view that an increase in the major airlines' capacity was a main cause of price cuts and price wars. Our research shows that price wars continued after Qantas announced that it would stop adding domestic capacity and give up defending its 65% market share policy in 2015. Indeed, Qantas' 65% market share commitment has led to fierce pricing competition and the occurrence of price wars. Multimarket contact promoted price wars in Australia's domestic airline market.

Suggested Citation

  • Ma, Wenliang & Wang, Qiang & Yang, Hangjun & Zhang, Yahua, 2019. "An analysis of price competition and price wars in Australia's domestic airline market," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 163-172.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:81:y:2019:i:c:p:163-172
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2019.06.008
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