Antecedents of flight delays in the Australian domestic aviation market

Abstract

Flight delays are widespread and growing around the world. Using public domain data of the airlines in Australia's domestic aviation market, this study investigates the antecedents of flight delays, and how airline operations contribute to such an important issue in the aviation industry. Applying the Hausman-Taylor regression method, the estimations suggest that the variables of the airline capacity decision are meaningful determinants of flight delays. Our findings inform that more frequent flights and larger aircraft are associated with more flight delays. A higher level of route congestion leads to more flight delays, especially for the low-cost carriers. Jet fuel price is identified as a driver, leading to more flight delays for the legacy airlines compared to the low-cost carriers. Keen competition between the airlines actually helps to improve the flight service quality, through fewer flight delays.