courage to other independent airlines such as Can-
ada’s Westjet and the United States’ JetBlue in the
late 1990’s.
Impact In 2000, a third international alliance, Sky-
Team, was formed by AeroMexico, Air France, Delta,
and Korean Air. This solidifies the alliance system as
the method with which airlines will deal with the
global economy of the twenty-first century. One pos-
itive effect is that it streamlines travel for the world’s
passengers and provides solidarity among airlines.
One negative is the possibility that the airlines within
the alliances will begin to merge, forming three or
more giant airline companies. However, this would
seem to go against antitrust laws and what passen-
gers appreciate about independent airlines that spe-
cialize in direct flights.
Further Reading
Oum, Tae Hoon, Jong-Hun Park, and Anming
Zhang.Globalization and Strategic Alliances: The
Case of the Airline Industr y. New York: Pergamon,
- Extremely well-researched and presented
discussion of the early alliances and their impact
on the world.
Smith, Myron J.The Airline Encyclopedia, 1909-2000.
Vols. 1-3. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2002. A
quintessential publication for anyone interested
in the airline industry.
Williams, George.Airline Competition: Deregulation’s
Mixed Legacy. Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2002.
Unique and informative look at the effects of Eu-
rope’s deregulation, which closely followed the
United States’ Deregulation Act.
Troy Place
See also Business and the economy in Canada;
Business and the economy in the United States; Can-
ada and the United States; EgyptAir Flight 990 crash;
Europe and North America; Recession of 1990-1991;
TWA Flight 800 crash; ValuJet Flight 592 crash.
Albee, Edward
Identification Major American absurdist
playwright
Born March 12, 1928; Washington, D.C.
By the 1990’s, Edward Albee had established himself as
America’s most prominent theatrical voice.
Albee began his climb to prominence with the Off-
Broadway production ofThe Sand Box(pr. 1960), a
surrealistic one-act drama in which one man con-
vinces another to commit suicide. His first Broadway
hit wasWho’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?(pr. 1962), in
which a couple spend a drunken evening deliber-
ately destroying their marriage. The play won the
Tony Award, and absurdism was established in main-
stream American theater. By the 1990’s, Albee had
already written two Pulitzer Prize-winning plays:A
Delicate Balance(pr. 1966) andSeascape(pr. 1975). In
1991, Albee was ready to offer a new surrealistic play
to contend for the Pulitzer Prize:Three Tall Women.
He first found a producer in Vienna, whereThree Tall
Womenopened at the English Theatre, Ltd. In 1992,
the play moved to the Rivers Arts Repertory Theatre
in Woodstock, New York. In 1994, it opened at Off-
Broadway’s Vineyard Theatre and won for Edward
Albee his third Pulitzer Prize, a record previously
held only by Eugene O’Neill.The Nineties in America Albee, Edward 23
Edward Albee.(AP/Wide World Photos)