Transparency Projector needed SUMMARY The international airline industry is undergoing a transformation of historic proportions. Once the domain of high-priced, high-cost state-owned carriers who benefitted from anticompetitive national and international policies, the industry is becoming populated by privately-owned carriers seeking to compete in every major market. In this paper we will explore the reasons for this metamorphosis. The paper argues this transformation has followed inexorably

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... m the adoption of three U.S. policies, which increased the competitiveness of U.S.-flag carriers in international airline markets and which in turn induced competitive responses from foreign carriers and governments to the altered industry environment. It next discusses the structural changes in the international industry that have occurred in the past decade and that are likely to occur in the future. Finally, the paper explores the impact of these structural changes on price and service competition offered international passengers.