<p>This thesis intends to analyze and clarify the relevant market within air passenger transport. Further the thesis intends to investigate if there is any difference in air passenger transport in accordance to more general business. The definition of the relevant market is an essential step in order to establish a breach under European competition law. The relevant market includes the relevant product market and the relevant geographic market. The fundamental issue in the relevant product market is whether products are considered to be substitutable and can constitute the same market. The Commission has set a notice which includes methods and criterias and serves as guidelines to courts and companies to define the relevant market. The notice is however not binding for courts. The CJ have developed implementation of the criterias which it tends to refer to even if it is a different branch, however a case-by-case based definition is needed. The definition of the relevant market is based on three main criterias: demand substitutability, supply substitutability and potential competition. Even though the supply substitutability seems not be implemented in a further extension in more general branches, it seems to be of greater importance when defining the relevant market within air passenger transport. The air passenger transport has also established a test called base of origin and base of destination which includes an analysis of price, travel frequencies, comfort of the journey, transfer time to terminals and differences in the qualities and quantities in airports.  However according to air passenger transport, travel sequences seems to be the criteria that courts focus most on.</p>

This thesis intends to analyze and clarify the relevant market within air passenger transport. Further the thesis intends to investigate if there is any difference in air passenger transport in accordance to more general business. The definition of the relevant market is an essential step in order to establish a breach under European competition law. The relevant market includes the relevant product market and the relevant geographic market. The fundamental issue in the relevant product market is whether products are considered to be substitutable and can constitute the same market. The Commission has set a notice which includes methods and criterias and serves as guidelines to courts and companies to define the relevant market. The notice is however not binding for courts. The CJ have developed implementation of the criterias which it tends to refer to even if it is a different branch, however a case-by-case based definition is needed. The definition of the relevant market is based on three main criterias: demand substitutability, supply substitutability and potential competition. Even though the supply substitutability seems not be implemented in a further extension in more general branches, it seems to be of greater importance when defining the relevant market within air passenger transport. The air passenger transport has also established a test called base of origin and base of destination which includes an analysis of price, travel frequencies, comfort of the journey, transfer time to terminals and differences in the qualities and quantities in airports.  However according to air passenger transport, travel sequences seems to be the criteria that courts focus most on.

Le transport aérien s'est fortement démocratisé ces dernières décennies, la réglementation qui l'accompagne s'est considérablement renforcée. Les sources applicables à la responsabilité du transporteur aérien reposent sur des conventions internationales, des règlements communautaires et des législations internes. Ce travail de recherche montre l'application dynamique des sources et les résultats produits par les différentes combinaisons. L’évolution de la notion de responsabilité ouvre d'autres champs de réflexion à travers une étude combinée des concepts de risque et de sécurité du transporteur aérien à l'égard des passagers. Il s'agit également d'étudier le particularisme du contrat de transport aérien de personnes au regard des nouvelles considérations. Le droit communautaire a insufflé une nouvelle vision au contrat de transport, au point d'assimiler le passager à un consommateur. La responsabilité du transporteur aérien s'apprécie sur le terrain des nouvelles technologies. Aujourd'hui, le passager aérien bénéficie des mesures protectrices du droit de la consommation. L'analyse des postes de responsabilité du transporteur aérien permet de comprendre ce processus d'imbrication des sources, et la variété des solutions jurisprudentielles. Le droit communautaire a instauré une réglementation innovante et pragmatique en phase avec les nouvelles exigences des passagers en matière de retard et d'annulation de vol. L'intérêt est de montrer le rôle important de la jurisprudence communautaire dans l'application cumulative du droit conventionnel et du règlement n°261/2004. Le retard est à dissocier des situations générant du retard; le droit communautaire a élaboré une distinction aboutie entre ces événements. Le retard peut être subi collectivement par les passagers, comme en cas d'annulation de vol, ou les affecter de manière individuelle, comme par exemple en cas de refus d'embarquement. Le droit communautaire a édicté des mesures standardisées d'assistance et d'indemnisation. Il conviendra d'expliquer ces dispositifs et les perfectionnements envisagés par le législateur européen. La responsabilité du transporteur aérien en cas d'accident replace le droit conventionnel au centre de toutes les attentions. L'exclusivité des conventions est plus que jamais réaffirmée par la jurisprudence internationale. Mais cette élévation du droit conventionnel est mise à mal par la pratique de certains tribunaux, qui n'hésitent pas mettre à l'écart la Convention au profit du droit interne. Le risque de démantèlement du droit conventionnel est tempéré par les différents renvois du droit communautaire et du droit interne à la primauté de la Convention. La responsabilité du transporteur aérien est une responsabilité objective. Elle met fin à toute limitation financière en cas de lésion corporelle ou de décès du passager. L'absence de définition de la notion d'accident suscite toujours autant d'interrogation. En matière d'accident, le droit conventionnel opère un renvoi implicite au droit interne pour la détermination des postes de préjudices. Dans le cadre de la complémentarité des sources, il est important d'avoir une approche combinée du droit interne français, qui consacre le principe de réparation intégrale et l'application du droit conventionnel. Le passager aérien voyage avec ses effets personnels. Le droit conventionnel a instauré des régimes de responsabilité différents en fonction de la destination du bagage. L'apport du droit communautaire est minimaliste en matière de bagages, mais la jurisprudence de la CJUE a permis une interprétation renouvelée de la réparation due pour les dommages aux bagages. L'étude de cette responsabilité nous conduira à souligner l'importance des réglementations de l'IATA et des conditions générales de transport qui viennent combler les lacunes du droit communautaire et conventionnel, peu intéressés par cette partie de la responsabilité du transporteur aérien. (...) / In recent decades, air transport has been greatly democratized, the regulations has increased significantly. The applicable sources for the air carrier liability are based on international conventions, EU regulations and domestic legislations. This research points dynamic application of the sources and the results produced by different combinations. The evolution of the responsibility concept starts other fields of thought through a combined study of the concepts of risk and safety of air carrier towards passengers. It's also studying the particularism of the carriage contract by air of persons under new regards. EU law has brought a new vision of the carriage contract to the point that it assimilates the passenger to a consumer. The liability of the air carrier also values the new technologies field. Today, air passenger benefits from protective measures of consumer law. The damage analysis helps to understand this nesting process sources, and the diversity of cases law. EU law has set up an innovative and pragmatic regulation in line with new requirements on passenger delays and flight cancellations. The purpose is showing the important role of EU law in the cumulative application of treaty law and of Regulation No 261/2004. The general notion of delay has to be dissociated from ordinary situations generating delay; EU law has drawn a distinction between these events. The delay may be experienced collectively by the passengers, as in case of flight cancellation or individually as in case of denied boarding. EU law enacted standardized measures of assistance and compensation. These mechanisms should be explained such as the improvements proposed by the European legislator. In case of accidents the air carrier liability puts the Convention at the center of attention. Exclusivity agreements are more than ever reasserted by international jurisprudence. However this elevation of treaty law is undermined by some courts practices, which do not hesitate to put aside the Convention to the benefit of the domestic law. Dismantling risk of conventional law is softened by the different references of EU law and domestic law to the primacy of the Convention. The air carrier's liability is a strict liability. It puts an end to any financial limitations in case of body injury or death of passenger. The lack of definition of accident concept continues to raise many questions. For accidents, treaty law carries out an implicit reference to domestic law in order to determine the positions damages. As part of the complementarity of sources, it is important to have a combined approach of French domestic law, which enshrines the principle of full compensation, and the enforcement of treaty law. Air passenger travels with his personal effects. Treaty law has introduced different liability regimes depending on luggage destination. The provision of EU law is minimalist in terms of luggage, but the CJUE cases law allowed a renewed interpretation of the compensation for luggage damages. The study of this liability will lead us to stress the importance of IATA regulations and general terms of carriage which fill in the gaps in EU and treaty law, not interested in this part of the air carrier's liability. The Convention has established options of competence which lead to a multitude of courts. The advent of fifth option of competence is part of a consumerist approach of treaty/conventionnal law. More ground of jurisdiction are, more important is the practice of forum shopping. Jurisdiction rules have been enacted by the jurisprudence as mandatory. The introduction of standardized measures of assistance and compensation by EU law highlighted the purview of exclusive nature of the jurisdiction rules. A liability action of victims in case of aircraft accidents or their heirs before the U.S. courts is likely to result in a forum non conveniens. A survey of American and French jurisprudence is needed to measure the extent of this phenomenon. (...)