INTERLINING - CONSUMER ACCESS, CHOICE AND VALUE

"Providing a seamless world-wide network for consumer access and consumer choice has always been a fundamental objective of the airline industry - and this has been achieved through the instrument of interlining, which has existed for more than 50 years," said IATA Director General Pierre J.Jeanniot. He was introducing a new study, "An Economic Assessment of the IATA Interline System", produced by Economics Plus Limited, working in association with GRA Incorporated.

"The customer convenience, ease of travel and greater freedom of choice provided to consumers by interlining was well recognised - but what we had not assessed was the consumer financial value inherent through interlining."

The multilateral interline system allows consumers to buy a single ticket, in a single currency, in a single transaction and fly with through-checked baggage, over the lines of more than one airline, permitting a change of flights, carriers and routings, before and during their journey. The system has been developed over those 50 years by airlines, co-operating through IATA, to establish standards necessary for the complex practical and financial interfaces that lie behind the seemingly simple transaction the consumer experiences.

The new study shows that consumers gain significantly from the interline system: firstly in terms of lower fares and secondly from the coordination of connecting services for passengers and their baggage. Consumers have greater access, choice and value. The annual combined value of these consumer benefits, based on US Department of Transport Statistics, and extrapolated worldwide, is calculated at USD 2.9 billion.

Jeanniot concluded, "The study demonstrates that if both the fare and service dimensions of interlining were absent all consumers would be worse off by an amount equal to about 10 percent of their fare. These significant consumer benefits are compelling reasons to ensure the future of the IATA Multilateral Interline System - and for governments around the world to continue their recognition and support."