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This chapter provides an overview of the century-long economic history of scheduled passenger airlines services in developing countries. Initially there is discussion of what constitutes a developing country and how airlines activities interact with development processes. It is a broad view which compares and contrasts the varying paths civil aviation has taken within different countries and internationally. It offers some insights as to why airlines are where we are today and as to what the future may hold for developing nations.

Here we consider the various ways in which airlines integrate their business activities. The thin markets, long distances, poor infrastructure, and challenging terrain over which many airlines based in developing countries operate can make it difficult to reap the economies of scale, scope, and density that carriers in more developed nations enjoy. There also remain institutional barriers to cross border trade in airline services. As a response to this, airlines from developing regions “cooperate” in a number of ways. This may involve multinational ownership, code sharing, or joint ventures. The rationale for these actions, together with discussion of the outcomes of some of them, is considered here.