The first section of Chapter 3 analyzes the history, privatization and M&A of the five airlines studied – Air France, Lufthansa (Germany), British Airways, Iberia (Spain) and Alitalia. The second demonstrates that while Air France, Lufthansa, IAG (the product BA’s and Iberia’s merger) can be considered Alphas today, Alitalia is a Beta. Examining evidence not fully discussed by previous authors, the third section examines which factors explain why firms are Alphas and Betas.