Applying an axiomatic approach to revenue allocation in airlines problems

Abstract: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) states that the revenue from interline tickets must be shared among the different airlines according to a weighted system. We analyze this problem following an axiomatic approach, and our theoretical results support IATA's procedure. Our first result justifies the use of a weighted system, but it does not specify which weights should be applied. Assuming that the weights are fixed, we provide several results that further support the use of IATA's mechanism. Finally, we provide results for the case in which all flights can be considered equivalent and no weighting is required.