Air Transport Industry Research Articles

Airports’ managerial human capital, ownership, and efficiency

Airport performance differences require a better understanding of the sources of efficiency and competitive advantages. Globalization drives the air transport industry into a more market-orientated business questioning the relationship between managerial decisions and airport performance. Aviation management studies do not consider managerial capabilities and skills since they are intangible exogenous factors that are difficult to assess. In this study, a stochastic frontier analysis is performed accounting for top managers' theoretical knowledge and experience enclosed as exogenous drivers of airports' efficiency. The model analyses 12 Polish airports from 2009 to 2017. The results show a diversity of airports with a different number of passengers as efficient. The top managers' experience, when gained in the same airport, has a positive impact on airports' technical efficiency. Airports having unstable management are more technically inefficient. Independently of the efficiency level, some airports change their management after the national elections, suggesting that managers are chosen by political interest rather than by their specialised knowledge or their prior experience in aviation management. The results suggest that more practical knowledge improve airports’ performance. Airports with a majority of government ownership that are the largest ones increase their efficiency significantly, suggesting that political decisions may be discriminatory in detriment of airports managed by regional and city authorities.

Evaluation of Air Transport Benefits for the Czech Republic

The article's main purpose is to describe the proposed Methodology, which aims to present an approach to expressing the value of the air transport industry in the Czech Republic. This approach methodically divides the primary and secondary effects and finds metrics based on which the value of the air transport can be quantified. The proposed approach is based on equivalent methodological materials by ICAO, FAA, and other organizations describing and analyzing the value of air transports. The calculations are based on open data sources as well as data that are available by request. The methodology also proposes collecting new data to complete the picture of the value of air transport.

Environmental Impact and External Costs Associated with Hub-and-Spoke Network in Air Transport

Under the background of economic globalization, the air transport industry developed rapidly. It turns out that the city-to-city network has not been able to adapt well to the development of the society, and the hub-and-spoke network came into being. The hub-and-spoke network demonstrates the advantages of reducing the operating costs of airlines to keep a competitive advantage, and by maintaining the interests of airlines in the rapidly developing context. However, during the operation of aircrafts, they consume fuel and spew a great deal of harmful pollutants into the air, which has an adverse impact on the living environment. This paper explores the impact and external costs associated with hub-and-spoke network in air transport from an environmental perspective. With some mathematical models, we construct a hub-and-spoke network and take a quantitative study on the environmental impact of air transport. For calculating pollutant emissions, meteorological conditions were considered to revise the pollutant emission factors of the Engine Emissions Data Base (EEDB) published by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The environmental external costs measurement model is employed to calculate the externality of toxic gas and greenhouse gas (GHG). In order to make the study more convincing, two alternative networks are computed: hub-and-spoke network and city-to-city network. It is found that the hub-and-spoke network is associated with poorer environmental impact and environmental external costs because of the different network characteristics and the scale of the fleets. Therefore, under the general trend of green aviation, the environmental impact and environmental external costs associated with hub-and-spoke network in air transport provides a certain reference for airlines’ strategic decision-making.

Issue of COVID-19 in Air Transport Industry

This article provides an overview of the global air transport challenge in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Companies and airlines around the world have had a difficult year. The Coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on people moving between countries and cities have reduced the number of flights to a minimum. In general, aviation creates opportunities for businesses and individuals, and in return can create dangers and threats to society. In particular, the spread of infectious diseases or pandemics –such that aviation can act as a channel of disease transmission- or the effect of aviation on global warming are two clear examples of the negative external effects of the aviation industry on society that need to be addressed. In this regard, the economic performance of the industry is very important. In analyzing the transportation industry, one should pay special attention to possible, reasonable, and desirable scenarios. Hence, protectionist policies, government assistance, and other industrial strategies can be reviewed. The policy review of government actions in the face of the challenges of the aviation industry emphasizes the importance of designing reasonable scenarios for sustainable development and the greater welfare of communities. Eliminating or reducing the prevalence of coronavirus and lifting restrictions on a variety of businesses, including airlines, can help improve corporate status. This situation will also enable companies to compensate for past losses in the coming year, in addition to improving services.

Identifying new business areas in air transport industry using patent information

Identifying new business areas in air transport industry using patent information

Prerequisites for Strategic Management of the Air Transport Enterprises Development

The global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has suspended not only the development of the aviation sector, but also the global economy in general. The possibility of acquiring the pre-crisis level indicators by domestic air transport enterprises depends on the effective solution of problematic issues to increase their competitiveness in the liberalized aviation market. This publication is aimed at carrying out systematization and identifying the prerequisites for efficient strategic management of Ukrainian air transport enterprises on the basis of consideing modern challenges in the development of the air transport services market, the conditions and industry peculiarities of the activities of aviation business entities in Ukraine. According to the results of the conducted study, the list of obstacles that hinder the development of air transport in Ukraine are systematized. The identified sufficiently strong dependence of the added value created by domestic airlines on such factors as the amount of time worked, the number of airlines, the volumes of passenger transportation and the number of advanced technologies used, pointed out the expediency of taking into account the stimulating impact of these factors on the business activity of domestic air transport enterprises for the development of the national economy. The results of the study of the prerequisites for increasing the competitiveness and development of air transport enterprises of Ukraine have testified to the need to create conditions for efficient strategic management of Ukrainian airlines, which together, due to the creation of additional jobs, as well as added value, have a direct impact on the formation of Ukraine’s gross domestic product.

Effects of applying the new ASBE 21 Leases on the financial statements: Evidence from China

The Ministry of Finance of China has proposed a new lease accounting model to the existing lease accounting standard that requires the capitalization of all operating leases as assets and liabilities. In this case study, the key effects of the application of a new accounting standard — Accounting Standard for Business Enterprises 21 (ASBE 21), on financial statements and financial ratios of listed companies in the Chinese air transport industry have been analyzed and investigated. Significant relative differences were found within the airline industry in China. Results indicated that the total assets and liabilities would increase due to the capitalization of operating leases, whereas the profitability of firms was expected to decrease. Furthermore, the coverage of firms would decline, but the leverage of these firms would be improved. Rather than China, prior studies have analyzed the firms in other countries, where different accounting principles are applied. Hence, this study can provide useful information for the investors, as well as other stakeholders that are interested in Chinese airline corporations, and help to complete the studies about different lease accounting standards applied in different countries.

What Type of Person Would Prefer Driverless Cars Over Commercial Flight?

Prior research has investigated ground and air transportation industries independently; however, few people have considered the impact driverless cars will have on commercial aviation. This study created a regression equation to predict what type of individual would prefer driverless cars over commercial flights. In two stages, participants ( n = 2016) provided demographic information, individual travel behavior, and their preference for the two modes of travel. In Stage 2, scores of participants were predicted using the Stage 1 equation were compared to their actual scores to provide validation to the Stage 1 equation through the four scenarios. Stage 1 created an equation through backward stepwise regression. Significant predictors from all scenarios were found to be Upper Social Class, Vehicle Affect, Airplane Affect, and Vehicle Comfort. These factors accounted for nearly half the variance from the data. The equation was then tested in Stage 2 tested using a t -test, correlation, and comparison of cross-validated R 2 . The model fit was demonstrated to be strong in all scenarios. These predictors will aid in identifying possible early adopters of autonomous vehicles. Implications of the findings with suggestions for future research are discussed in detail in this study. Keywords : consumer perceptions, multiple regression, aviation, driverless vehicles, consumer preference

Development of advanced voice-supported simulators with the function of automated estimation of air traffic controllers skills

According to the World Health Organization, the number of potential pathogens worldwide is very high, which increases the likelihood of a new pandemic. The impact of the new coronavirus infection (Covid-19) on all spheres of human activity, including the air transport industry, has shown that it is necessary to take into account the possibilities of its functioning under the new conditions. During the research, the possibility of using automated modular training systems for the air traffic controllers training in the remote access mode has been considered. The well-known simulators do not implement a justified instrumental procedure for measuring the acquired skills in air traffic services and the assessment of their development is carried out by the instructor, who reacts to the student’s actions on the basis of his experience. It is difficult for the instructor to control the development of a student’s individual skills and he has to rely on his own experience. To simulate the controller-pilot contour, pseudo-pilots are involved, manually changing the flight parameters of the aircraft and simulating R/T communication. The well-known simulators do not allow independent training. As a result, a conceptual design was formed and a promising simulator with the function of training automation and voice support was developed. The effectiveness of the proposed solutions was tested in comparison with the traditional approach to simulator training. Eventually it was found that after using a special simulator, students' mistakes decreased. Subsequently, the simulator was used for practical training of students providing the distance learning in circumstances of pandemics (Covid-19). The project showed its viability and the ability to conduct remote training of air traffic controllers, after appropriate refinement of the promising simulator.

How does air transport impact employment in typical tourist industry activities in Brazil?

ABSTRACT This paper examines the impact of air transport on tourism-related employment in Brazil, one of the largest economies of the world, where both industries are operating well below their potential. Job creation in typical tourist industry activities in response to innovations in passenger air transport is a paramount indicator for both the tourism and air transport industries. The discussion here is supported by the time series analysis and Granger causality methodologies. The results show that air transport activity cointegrates with employment in tourism and has substantial impact on both its long- and short-term composition. Although employment shows higher elasticity to international than to domestic air movement, the latter is considered the main driver of employment. In three years, the accumulated potential response by employment in tourism to innovations in domestic air transport was 50% and accumulated percentage variance, 56%. The results indicate that Brazilian policymakers must consider domestic air transport as a key factor for sustainable employment in the tourism industry.

Forecasting Recovery Time in Air Transport Markets in the Presence of Large Economic Shocks: COVID-19

This paper estimates the relationship between the strength of economic shocks and temporal recovery in the world air transport industry. Our results show that world recovery of passenger demand to pre-COVID-19 levels is estimated to take 2.4 years (recovery by late-2022), with the most optimistic estimate being 2 years (recovery by mid-2022), and the most pessimistic estimate 6 years (recovery in 2026). Large regional differences are detected, Asia Pacific has the shortest estimated average recovery time 2.2 years, followed by North America 2.5 years and Europe 2.7 years. For air freight the results show a shorter average world recovery time of 2.2 years compared to passenger demand. At the regional level, Europe and Asia Pacific are comparable with average recovery times of 2.2 years while North America is predicted to recover faster in 1.5 years. The results show that the strength of economic shocks of various origins impacts the linear growth of passenger and freight traffic and the temporal recovery of the industry in a predictable transitory way. Hence, the impact of the COVID-19 recession will represent a temporary, although long-lasting, correction to previous growth levels.

Forecasting temporal world recovery in air transport markets in the presence of large economic shocks: The case of COVID-19

This paper estimates the relationship between the strength of economic shocks and temporal recovery in the world air transport industry. Our results show that world recovery of passenger demand to pre-COVID-19 levels is estimated to take 2.4 years (recovery by late-2022), with the most optimistic estimate being 2 years (recovery by mid-2022), and the most pessimistic estimate 6 years (recovery in 2026). Large regional differences are detected, Asia Pacific has the shortest estimated average recovery time 2.2 years, followed by North America 2.5 years and Europe 2.7 years. For air freight the results show a shorter average world recovery time of 2.2 years compared to passenger demand. At the regional level, Europe and Asia Pacific are comparable with average recovery times of 2.2 years while North America is predicted to recover faster in 1.5 years. The results show that the strength of economic shocks of various origins impacts the linear growth of passenger and freight traffic and the temporal recovery of the industry in a predictable transitory way. Hence, the impact of the COVID-19 recession will represent a temporary, although long-lasting, correction to previous growth levels.

Modeling the flight departure delay using survival analysis in South Korea

The air transportation industry in South Korea has been growing since the 2000s. Although the number of air passengers has continuously increased, the flight delay rate has fluctuated from year to year. In this study, a survival analysis was conducted to compare each flight delay in terms of airport/time slot and to evaluate the actual impacts of major variables on flight delays. We performed multiple analyses using survival analysis methodologies, including the Kaplan–Meier estimator, log-rank test, and Cox proportional hazards model. In particular, we applied a turnaround buffer as a key variable in Cox proportional hazards model analysis. The survival curve showed that more international flights departed earlier than scheduled or with minimal delay than domestic flights. However, international flights tended to have more long-term delays. The log-rank test indicated that international flights had a wider distribution of delay times than domestic flights. In the Cox proportional hazards analysis, under the condition in which the actual flight turnaround time was less than 120 min, the results indicated that the longer the actual turnaround buffer was, the less frequently the delays occurred. By using these analyses, we could numerically verify the actual delay trends in South Korea. The results can be used as fundamental resources for political and economic decision-making processes in the aviation industry.

Impact of Sustainability on Firm Value and Financial Performance in the Air Transport Industry

In this study, we examine the extent to which the implementation of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures influence the firm value and financial performance of airlines. The panel data analysis is applied to the set of collected data from the Thomson Reuters Eikon database for the sample of 27 airlines worldwide from 2013 to 2019. Findings of this study support the positive relationship between the environmental pillar score (Env) and governance pillar score (Gov), with market-to-book ratio and Tobin’s Q as proxies for firm value and financial performance, respectively. This finding implies that an increase in both pillars leads to higher market value and financial efficiency for investigated airlines. Therefore, an airline’s effort to improve Env and Gov dimensions will lead to higher market value and return on invested funds. In contrast, the social pillar disclosure in both models is found to have a significant negative association with the dependent variables, showing that airlines’ social activities result in lower value as well as level of performance.

Performance evaluation of terminal airspace system safety, delay and predictability of Muritala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos, Nigeria

This paper outlines a multi-dimensional user-oriented performance metrics approach in evaluating the operation of the terminal airspace system to aid in the airport and airspace planning and decision making. Safety, delay and predictability metrics contribute to the analytical framework. From the findings, the occurrence of air incidence has a high severity level at departure, and arrival phases of flight, higher likelihood at the radar room and much of the incidences were as a result of faulty equipment and inherent absence of modern airspace infrastructure. Also, in Lagos terminal airspace, the number of incidences has no close correlation with the level of traffic complexity. Total schedule arrival delay ranges from 1-392 minutes representing an average of 7.8-17.9 minutes per aircraft that arrived Lagos airport at that period. Besides, the total approach contact time ranges from 1-57 minutes, translating to 4.6-7.1 minutes per aircraft. However, variability in arrival time of 1-5 minutes is common from published airline arrival scheduled time. In the same vein, the variability of 1-5 minutes is common from approach contact times of aircraft. These figures indicate sound arrival predictability signature for Lagos airport. Also, departure time variability above 30 minutes is familiar from the ATC clearance time for the various routes under study. However, there is about or more 25% variability of more than 15 minutes, and this indicates possible inconsistency of predicting departure times from the times ATC clearance was acquired. Above all, the predictability of departure times in Lagos airport is weak compared to those of the arrival. Taken by it, this may be a sign of airspace congestion or ATC deficiencies at the Lagos airport. This is an indication of the lack of users' confidence in Nigeria's air transport industry to deliver just-in-time service.

ENSURING SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR SOUTH AFRICA WITH COMPLEXITY AND WHOLE-OF-SOCIETY THEORY APPROACHES

Air traffic management is a complex multi-disciplinary socio-technical system of systems that directly supports the air transportation industry. With the introduction of new technologies into the air traffic management system, there is a lack of understanding of the effects of new technology on people, machines, procedures, and regulatory environments. There is thus a demonstrable need for methods to determine credible requirements that can be used to outline operating procedures, policies, tools, and techniques for continued resilience. The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework using the ‘whole-of-society’ perspective and tools such as complexity theory, applying these to air traffic management in South Africa. The framework is developed further to understand the requirements for ensuring a resilient and sustained air traffic management network.

ВЛИЯНИЕ КОРОНАВИРУСА НА ГЛОБАЛЬНУЮ ЭКОНОМИКУ

The article analyzes the consequences of the spread of coronavirus infection on the world economy. The high degree of infection and the rapid spread of COVID-19 caused the quarantine of certain cities and regions of the world, and since March 2020, the borders between the countries have been completely closed. This situation, naturally, could not but affect the global economic activity. The crisis caused by the pandemic has led to the fact that the leaders of the countries were forced to first of all pay attention to health problems and seriously reduce funding in other sectors of the economy. The forced self-isolation regime of the population affected all spheres of life, without exception, large and medium, and, especially, small business suffered. The sectors of the economy most affected by the coronavirus pandemic include: air and road transportation, the leisure and entertainment industry, fitness and sports, tourism, hospitality, catering, the education system, the organization of conferences and exhibitions, the provision of personal services to the population, dentistry, retail trade in non-food products, the media and the production of printed materials, etc. Statistical data on the number of cases of new coronavirus infection by country (as well as those who recovered and died from it) are today not so much of a medical nature as evidence of a deepening global economic crisis. The decline in production volumes on a global scale entails a reduction in the global consumption of most types of industrial raw materials and energy carriers. According to analysts’ forecasts, the possibility of a quick return to the previous economic activity is not foreseen, negative processes may continue for the next several years. The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious test of the readiness of the world economy to effectively resolve global problems, overcome the negative consequences of the spread of the virus and focus on those positive opportunities, the development of which can lead to economic growth in the long term. One of these promising areas of economic development is the further digitalization of society, the development of new digital technologies.

Raptor Feeding Characterization and Dynamic System Simulation Applied to Airport Falconry

Airport falconry is a highly effective technique for reducing wildlife strikes on aircraft, which cause great economic losses. As an example, nowadays, wildlife strikes on aircrafts in the air transport industry are estimated to cost between USD 187 and 937 million in the US and USD 1.2 billion worldwide every year. Moreover, the life-threatening danger that wildlife strikes pose to passengers has prompted security stakeholders to develop countermeasures to prevent wildlife impacts near airport transit zones. The experience acquired from international countermeasure analysis reveals that falconry is the most effective technique to create sustainable wildlife exclusion areas. However, its application in airport environments continues to be regarded as an art rather than a technique; falconers modulate raptors’ behavior by using a trial-and-error system of controlling their hunger to stimulate the need for prey. This paper focuses on a case study where such a decision-making process was designed as a dynamic system applied to feeding planning for raptors that can be used to set an efficient baseline to optimize raptor responses without damaging existing wildlife. The results were validated by comparing the outputs of the model and the falconer’s trial-and-error system, which revealed that the proposed model was 58.15% more precise.

A real-time integrated optimization of the aircraft holding time and rerouting under risk area

Fight on-time rate is one of the key air transport industry’s service quality indicators, often affected by adverse weather. In order to improve flight punctuality and reduce the impact of adverse weather on flights, a Real-time Integrated Optimization of the Aircraft Holding Time and Rerouting under Risk Area (RIOAHTR-RA) model is proposed at minimizing the total flight duration from the start point of rerouting to the end point of rerouting under adverse weather condition. In this model, the update cycle based on radar data is generally 6 min, and the position relationship between risk area and the aircraft is available and described in real time. The RIOAHTR-RA model is then solved by the distribution estimation algorithm with improved artificial potential field (IAPF) by introducing intermediate target point, relative position and relative velocity factors. Then, the optimal holding time and rerouting path for aircraft were allocated. The results are compared with the single rerouting strategy, and the effectiveness of the optimization solver with improved IAPF is evaluated. Compared with the data of the Hong Kong Observatory’s forecast system, the results show that appropriate holding time before rerouting can reduce flight delays. The proposed RIOAHTR-RA model is suitable for real-time air traffic flow management.

Air Transport and its Socio-Economic Impacts

The initial motivation for studying and researching air transport socio-economic impacts is quantifying the value that air transport brings to the Czech Republic. The main challenge is to explore a methodology that would describe the macroeconomic and microeconomic relations within the Air transport industry. These relations will define the directions of the market forces flow and thus the Czech Republic’s value. The authors of the paper use an approach that follows methods and standards for collecting and processing economic and statistical data introduced by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Eurostat, and the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO). The authors incorporate economic definitions and standards published by the United Nations under the World Trade Organization (UNWTO) and other accounting and statistical entities, which results in creating a methodical description of chosen relations. The methodical description leads to the quantification of the value. In a practical sense, it is a matter of determining the origin of the data sets according to which the selected relations will be defined. The paper focuses on the expression of Air transport’s primary and secondary effects and the description of the proposals, which will be part of the methodology.