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VEGAS LEX and InfraONE, have provided organizational and legal assistance with the translation, publication and distribution of the report Airport Competition in Europe by Airports Council International Europe (ACI EUROPE)* initiated by Rosaviatsia agency.

The VEGAS LEX law firm and the First Infrastructure Company InfraONE, have provided organizational and legal assistance in the translation, publication and distribution of the Airport Competition in Europe report by Airports Council International Europe (ACI EUROPE)* initiated by Rosaviatsia agency.

ACI EUROPE commissioned a study fr om Copenhagen Economics**, the leading economic consultancy in the Nordic region, with an evidence based assessment of:

§  the nature of competition between European airports and of the competitive constraints upon them, differentiating between the major categories of airports wh ere appropriate but recognizing the interactions between them;

§  the development of such competition and constraints over time;

§  the impact of such competition and constraints on airports and their business model, but also on their customers, both airlines and passengers;

§  how far airports can, in light of such developments, be regarded as possessing monopoly characteristics with concomitant market power; and

§  the implications of the development of competition for the economic regulation of airports.

The large-scale report is accompanied by a preface supplied by European and Russian aviation industry experts.

“We can say that, for most of the large international hubs and regional airports in Russia, the air services market has reached a qualitatively different phase, characterized with an increasing load on the infrastructure, along with the growing airline and passenger requirements to the service level, and harsher competition for customers, both carriers and passengers,” said Albert Eganyan, who chairs the VEGAS LEX Partners’ Council and heads the InfraOne board of directors. “ACI EUROPE’s Airport Competition in Europe study explores European air services’ development over the past few years, but I am confident that it will also enable us to outline the sector’s future development in Russia.”

According to Risaviatsia head Alexander Neradko, the ACI Europe study has fundamentally and comprehensively exposed all the key reasons, conditions and drivers of airport competition in Europe over the past few decades, and will be of interest to major representatives of the aviation industry.

"The development of more flexible air-line businesses in Europe has fundamentally changed the airport market,” said Dr. Harry Bush, Former Director of the Economic Regulation Group, UK Civil Aviation Authority. “This study has assembled from a variety of sources and perspectives enough evidence to suggest that the old presumptions need to be reversed. Airports can and do compete.”.

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* Brussels-headquartered Airports Council International Europe (ACI EUROPE), founded in 1991, represents the interests of over 450 airports in 45 European countries. Its membership is comprised of airport operators of all sizes, along with national airport associations, world business partners and educational establishments working together in an active association to ensure effective communication and advocacy with legislative, commercial, technical, environmental, passenger and other interests. ACI EUROPE members account for over 90% of commercial air traffic in Europe. They are competitors in the airport market place and support free and fair competition as a trade policy and a legal concept.

 ** Copenhagen Economics is the leading economic consultancy in the Nordic region. Founded in 2000, the firm employs more than 60 staff and operates across the world. The Global Competition Review (GCR) lists Copenhagen Economics as one of the top 20 economic consultancies in the world since 2006.

For more information on VEGAS LEX’s PPP and infrastructure projects please go here.