Sources for effective cost management in the aviation industry

Abstract

The article investigates the process of formation of costs of economic agents of the aviation industry. The transaction costs are considerable in aviation industry, so they shape the organizational patterns within industry. Cost-saving tools are crucial for agents in aviation industry, as it is capital-intensive industry with the large proportion of fixed costs. So the economies of scale and economies of scope are vital factors for cost management. The other ones include outsourcing, airline route design, fuel-efficient aircrafts. The regulation system in case of the aviation industry is broad and intensive, thus it aligns the cost structure and pricing in the industry. Deregulation led to restructuring the industry, application of cost-saving programs, massive merger and acquisitions and competitive pricing. Airports were forced to build partnerships with air carriers balancing their price offers and range of services. The hub-and-spoke airline design set new challenges to airports as for their capacity, convenience and safety. But the need for capital investments also increases dramatically, implying the key role of financial management in airport sustainable development strategy. The dynamics of aggregate indicators of financial results of airport activity in Ukraine for 2014-2018 are analyzed. It is revealed that the formation of cost and revenue centers becomes a tool for optimizing the costs which can be attributed to the efficiencies of scale, efficiencies of scope and effects of concentration. Type by type analysis of operating and non-operating, fixed and variable costs of the aviation industry helped to reveal the potential for cost-saving without considering increase of revenues. The effective using of specific indicators for evaluating the performance of industry agents, in particular RASM and CASM, in the context of the creation of cost centers in the aviation industry has been proved.