INTRODUCTION-THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY IN THE EU With more than 130 scheduled airlines and a network of over 450 airports air transport makes a key contribution to the European economy. Every year, more than 800 million people in the EU travel by air. 1 During the summer holiday peak more than 30,000 scheduled flights take place daily. 2 The industry employs more than 3 million people and contributes more than EUR 120 bn to European GDP. 3 In commercial aviation there are two distinct models of transport with regard to route network organisation. These are the hub-and-spoke and point-to-point systems. The first is based on a system of large airports, hubs. In a nutshell, if a passenger wished to journey from point A to point B, he or she would use a regional airline to reach the nearest hub, from which travel then continues to the hub closest to the destination. The passenger would then use a regional airline to reach that destination. 4 The latter is based on an extensive network to allow connections between any of its points, any pair of cities. 5 Each system has its own advantages and disadvantages

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