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Network airlines have been increasingly focusing their operations on hub airports through the exploitation of connecting traffic, allowing them to take advantage of economies of traffic density, which are unequivocal in the airline industry. Less attention has been devoted to airlines? decisions on point-to-point thin routes, which could be served using different aircraft technologies and different business models. This paper examines, both theoretically and empirically, the impact on airlines ?networks of the two major innovations in the airline industry in the last two decades: the regional jet technology and the low-cost business model. We show that, under certain circumstances, direct services on point-to-point thin routes can be viable and thus airlines may be interested in deviating passengers out of the hub.

The dimension of the alliances has compelled experts to revise their preconceptions about the internationalization of companies and to include this strategy in their models as Uppsala model was forced to acknowledge. This article focuses on one of the alliances forged in Europe, very deviated from the practices of the majority because it was a company with exclusively European partners. It adopts the perspective of a peripheral country (Spain) in the global economy and from the special status of at least one of the partners in a monopoly. Finally, the article follows case study methodology, which aims to delve into the complexity of the processes and the phenomena at hand. The article responds to the need for an alternative approach to industry analysis that is particularly important for technology-based industries and the most turbulent high-tech industries. The first section examines the creation of European Silicon Structures as a strategic alliance in the European semiconductor industry. Parts two and three look at the case of Spain and the role of demand using the example of Telefonica. Conclusions are presented in the final section.

Treballs Finals del Grau d'Economia, Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2014-2015, Tutor: Esteve Sanromà, The aim of this investigation is to examine the phenomena of strategic alliances among maritime carriers. During the last decade this process has accelerated, jointly with the introduction of megaships in the industry. This has caused the number of operators in the market to fall to only four big alliances controlling the 99% of the market share. The main argument provided by companies is that this process is done to gain economies of scale and operational synergies. In order to test this argument an average cost function that depends on the number of operators in the industry, thus if there are strategic agreements or not among carriers, has been estimated and it has been found to decrease when strategic alliances are established. This means a better situation in terms of efficiency due to the concentration of the sector but it does not mean lower prices or an increase in the general level of welfare. Testing this goes far from the scope of this research but it could be interesting to pursue the investigation in the future.

Network airlines have been increasingly focusing their operations on hub airports through the exploitation of connecting traffic, allowing them to take advantage of economies of traffic density, which are unequivocal in the airline industry. Less attention has been devoted to airlines' decisions on point-to-point thin routes, which could be served using different aircraft technologies and different business models. This paper examines, both theoretically and empirically, the impact on airlines' networks of the two major innovations in the airline industry in the last two decades: the regional jet technology and the low-cost business model. We show that, under certain circumstances, direct services on point-to-point thin routes can be viable and thus airlines may be interested in deviating passengers out of the hub. Keywords: regional jet technology; low-cost business model; point-to-point network; hub-and-spoke network JEL Classi…fication Numbers: L13; L2; L93