If you’re planning to go to France, I’ve got an idea for you. First, let’s define our terms. The US airline industry is an oligopoly.

An oligopoly is “a state of limited competition, in which a market is shared by a small number of producers or sellers.” In the US airline market, four airlines control 82 percent of the $194.7 billion market. That’s nice for them. It’s a big pot of gold for them to divvy up. For the passengers, maybe it’s not so nice, because choices are extremely limited. In contrast, the entire European airline market is valued at $67.81 billion, about a third of the size of the U.S. market, and 195 airlines are competing for that market. Just by calculating the basic math, it’s undeniable that the European airline market is many times more competitive than the American market Read the rest of this entry »