Airport Business Research Articles

Waco Regional Airport: A case study for strategic airport business planning

Case studies help airport professionals prepare for real-world problems, situations and crises by providing an approximation of various professional environments. One way to study airport issues is through the use of strategic planning case studies. Strategic planning is the process of developing a method to identify what products are to be provided to which customers, where they will be provided, and at what price. Strategic planning in the airport environment summarises the basic operational tasks, goals, objectives, strategies and tactics based on the vision and mission statements previously developed by the airport organisation. This paper studies strategic planning at Waco Regional Airport and provides a suggested model for the development of future airport case studies to be used in the airport management training environment.

The value of an airport business plan

This paper sets out the rationale for, and functions of, an airport business plan, as opposed to an airport master plan. It goes on to consider the processes needed to develop a business plan, the importance of clearly defined job descriptions and lines of management, and policy documents which should be included in the business plan. The paper concludes by considering the importance of getting airport stakeholders — management, community leaders, tenants and local businesspersons — involved in the process of drawing up the business plan.

Political Opportunists and Mavericks? A Typology of Spanish Airports

The authors present a framework for investigating Spanish airport economic efficiency, since the airport industry ensures that international air services that are fully competitive are accessible to cities. The authors review literature on different methodologies for measuring and actual measurement of airport efficiency to gain insight into airport typology proposals. All possible airport business forms, including public service, political opportunist, and commercial, fall within the investigation's scope. Two ideal airport types are presented by the authors in the resulting typology: mavericks and public service facilities or political opportunists. Using one-way analysis and cross-efficiency methodology of variance using peered and self multipliers to assess airport typology research, the authors demonstrate that there is robust economic performance by the mavericks, while the other group is highly dependent on multiplier selection. Maverick classification, which does not depend on multiplier selection, is quite stable. The authors recommend how economic efficiency can be fostered by further research that typology can contribute to.

Collaboration in the airport business through the development of an IT platform

The aim of the paper is to investigate the main changes and the perception of the importance of collaboration within the airport industry. More specifically through a ‘star scheme’, relationships between airports, local and national stakeholders are analysed and a Travel Information-based Exchange (TIE) platform that manages cooperation among several stakeholders and customers is presented. Collaboration in this way can be interpreted as core competence and a resource for creating a common strategy, achieving a competitive advantage and creating value for companies and passengers. The potential for a TIE is examined for a case study in central Italy.

Surviving the low-cost carrier challenge: London City Airport's business model

Surviving the low-cost carrier challenge: London City Airport's business model

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF SPLIT AIRPORT BUSINESS PROCESSES

Optimisation of business processes represents the basis ofimproving the competitiveness of the Ailport as a service pro·vider. This directly implies not only the analysis and creation ofthe model of current organisation and technological processesbut also the necessity to measure these processes in order to reorganiseand improve them. Consequently, the Split AitportAuthority considers the functional analysis of its business processesas one of the major issues. Since in April2002 the analysisand modelling were completed in all the organisational unitsof handling setvice and cargo department organisational structures,both of the organisational structure of these services, aswell as of processes of aircraft, passenger, baggage and cargohandling, this paper will analyse the implementation of ARISComputer System at Split Airport Ground Handling Process.

Strategic direction in the airport business: enabling or disabling?

Airport strategic direction is usually linked to the changing nature of airlines and their evolving facilities requirements. In the US airports are predominantly publicly owned giving rise to different organizational structures to those associated with many of the other countries, such as the UK, which are currently experiencing a change in the nature of airline products. This paper examines the different responses that are possible and not possible within the organisational structures of airports, focusing on some of the limitations of the current US and UK models of ownership and how these may impede economic growth. The paper ends with a look at the structural problems that arise in the management of air travel in the best interests of the traveller in the UK and how these problems might be resolved through alliances between the airlines and the airports.

The evolution of airport management practices: towards a multi-point, multi-service, marketing-driven firm

After decades of standstill in both strategic and competitive practices within industry borders, the airport business has recently shown proof of new proactive, marketing-driven approaches towards the market. The role of airports has been evolving, from a mono-modal to a multimodal hub approach, to the “multipoint firm” concept. This kind of enterprise seems, in its best practices, capable of serving various demand clusters with an array of different value propositions: attractions for tourists and aviation enthusiasts, congressional and logistic facilities, shopping venues and consulting services appear the most relevant ones. This paper investigates the evolving profile of airports towards the “airport as a firm” concept. This goal has been achieved through the implementation of more complex forms of service packages in order to satisfy evolving needs of enriched audiences, rather than identifying with the traditional audience, air passengers and air transport employees only. The paper highlights examples of “best practice” in the European airport industry. The Italian airport industry and its late evolution towards the “airport-as-a-firm” approach is given particular attention throughout the paper.

Airport Privatization: Issues for the United States

The worldwide trend to privatize airports has led Congress to direct the Federal Aviation Administration to experiment with privatization. Because there always is a public interest in the operation of major commercial airports, which are both vital assets to the community and potential monopolies, it is generally impractical to transform airports into wholly private businesses. Most privatization projects involve substantial regulation of the private investors, detailing the design of airport services, the prices charged, and their openness to users. Worldwide experience provides three lessons: ( a) U.S. airports are among the most privatized in the world, and there is little scope for privatization in the United States compared to elsewhere; ( b) Major aspects of airport direction must remain under government control because of the public interest in these facilities; and ( c) Privatization takes a long time because the process requires considerable negotiation between the stakeholders in the airport business, and there are no simple solutions. The fundamental choice in the privatization is how the government should sustain the public interest in open access to and fair rates for airport services. The major alternatives are ( a) government regulation, an inherently adversarial process; or ( b) government ownership and partnership in the development of airports, a more collaborative approach. The partnership approach, applied by airport authorities throughout the United States and Canada, is arguably the better alternative in practice. It assures the public interest in fair operations and permits local communities to express their needs for sufficient airport capacity.

Airports, Airlines, Airplanes

Airports, Airlines, Airplanes

FEEDBACK FOR PLANNING

Airports have traditionally been considered as public utility providers, with little potential to develop significant market opportunities. Liberalisation of the air transport market around the globe has introduced new dynamics into the airport industry. The emergence of competition and the transition in ownership (towards privatisation or commercialisation) demand a different perspective in airport management. This paper aims at explaining the complexity of the airport business, in particular in what concerns the role of the airport as a firm that operates in a network of stakeholders, to produce a set of service packages targeted at several types of customers.