Ticket Distribution in Aviation

Innovation is closely linked to air transport, from the development of aircraft technologies to the creation of computer reservation systems. The latter led to the development of global distribution systems (GDSs) that consolidated airline supply and presented it clearly for travel agents to sell air tickets to passengers. Although there are many challenges, the development and regulation of ticketing distribution are relevant to this day. This issue of Network Industries Quarterly aims to untangle the complexity of ticket distribution in aviation by examining it from different angles.

In their contribution titled “Regulating Ticket Distribution in Aviation: What is at stake?”, Juan Montero and Matthias Finger provide context for the ticket distribution system by discussing the key measures required for its regulation. Montserrat Barriga’s contribution addresses how digitalisation has changed the aviation industry. It offers prospects to enhance connectivity, convenience and transparency for passengers, but it also reminds the industry and policymakers to be aware of possible challenges for regional airlines. The complexity of ticket distribution is also discussed by Attila Fodor in his piece “Behind the Sky: Air Ticket Distribution – a complex world”. The author examines key challenges in air ticket distribution and proposes investigating solutions from other industries while considering all stakeholders involved. The fourth contribution from María Jesús Guerrero Lebrón examines whether regulation of GDSs is still needed. The European Union must find a balance between promoting innovation and implementing effective regulations that ensure all parties adhere to the same standards. In their contribution, Sabine Buchner and Roman van Alten discuss airline ticket distribution as a regulatory opportunity to enhance innovation and collaboration within the aviation industry. The final contribution is from Matthew Krasa, who emphasizes the importance of direct ticket distribution for airlines, enabling them to be more transparent with consumers and invest in innovation.

Editors of this issue:

Juan Montero and Elodie Petrozziello

Urban Nodes

The European Union is strongly urbanised, with 432 urban nodes identified. This vast array of urban hubs has a significant economic and geographical value. Urban nodes are critical to the TEN-T network, which aims to identify any missing infrastructural links that national authorities might have overlooked while focusing on building the national network. The lack of developed urban nodes hinders network connectivity and enhances capacity bottlenecks. In June of 2024, the revised TEN-T Regulation has been adopted. This signifies the ongoing pivotal role that urban nodes have in the functioning of the single market. The interconnection of urban nodes is fundamental for building economic value both in terms of seamless transport of freight and passengers and also for enhancing sustainable mobility. However, organising investments for new infrastructure might be challenging as many stakeholders are involved, and the urban capacity is limited.

This issue of Network Industries Quarterly focuses on the role of urban nodes in the Single European Transport Area (SETA). In his contribution entitled Urban Nodes –Predict, Provide, Plan, Prioritise and Prevent, Alan O’Brien gives a clear picture of the context of urban nodes in Europe while illustrating the main measures needed to build a reliable urban node. Tiina Ruohonen’s contribution entitled The governance of TEN-T urban nodes discusses the different governance mechanisms of urban nodes in Europe, suggesting to foster those collaborations that are already in place. The importance of governance is once again highlighted in Thomas Geier’s piece A Governance Framework for the Urban Nodes by the Urban Nodes. Here, the author stresses the fact that no one-size-fits-all governance model exists, suggesting more robust communication among those actors that already facilitate inter-communal transport policy. The fourth contribution, entitled TEN-T Urban Nodes as Functional Entities by Lucian Zagan, emphasises the need for integration between urban nodes and the TEN-T network while considering challenges for urban nodes, such as governance, funding, cooperation and policy coherence.

Editors of this issue:

Matthias Finger & Elodie Petrozziello

Rail Capacity Management

Rail has a key role to play in making transport more efficient and sustainable in the EU and elsewhere. However, increasing passenger and cargo volumes require investment in infrastructure, and also more efficient track capacity management. This issue of Network Industries Quarterly focuses on the capacity dimension of railway infrastructure, and in particular on how to increase capacity for both passenger and freight railway undertakings (RUs), as availability of reliable railway infrastructure capacity is a condition for the much-needed modal shift from road (and air) to rail. Needless to say, capacity management takes place in a situation of growing competition for track and it is necessary to ensure non-discriminatory treatment of competing RUs when it comes to track availability and usage. Somewhat paradoxically, this gives the infrastructure manager (IM) an important and more active role than was previously the case, and at the same time requires an independent regulator to not only supervise non-discrimination but also ensure that the IM stays within its legal mandate, not to mention the fact that capacity needs to be planned, financed and built well ahead of time.

In his contribution entitled Regulating active infrastructure management in railways, Juan Montero shows the growing importance of infrastructure managers in capacity management, and also the need to ensure that they act in the public interest.

Dariush Kowsar and Alain Quinet’s paper on Capacity Management as a cost-effective way to boost Rail Traffic in Europe shows how a combination of careful planning and digitalisation can contribute to more efficient investment, improved network utilisation and overall lower costs of the available capacity.

Paolo Beria explores the relationship between Track access charges and capacity management. More precisely, he argues for including capacity pricing elements such as track access charges and illustrates this with the example of Italian high-speed railways.

Martin Aronsson addresses the issue of Flexibility in the railway capacity allocation process and argues for some slack in the capacity allocation planning process as capacity usage by train operating companies can never be fully planned ahead of time.

Matthias Finger

Publication Director