Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines DG Andrew Herdman expressed his
frustration with the current system during his organizations'
Presidents Assembly meeting in Singapore last week: "If Nokia
was operating under the same framework as the airline industry,
you would have to have a Finish passport to buy one of its
phones. [Regarding the automobile industry] you could only buy a
Japanese car in the US if you were going to drive it on roads
outside the US."  While this may be a bit overstated (after all,
consumers can purchase airline tickets across borders and
liberal cross-border rules in the automobile industry haven't
insulated automakers from fiscal distress), his exasperation is
understandable and widely shared throughout the airline
industry.  The global structure left in place by the 1944
Chicago Convention has resulted in hundreds of airlines around
the world (rather than the relatively small number of major
companies in other worldwide industries) competing under rules
that limit their international endeavo