An Attempt to Measure the Traffic Impact of Airline Alliances

This paper analyzes the effects of airline alliances on the allied partners output by comparing the traffic change observed between the pre- and the post-alliance period. First, a simple methodology based on traffic passenger modelling is developed, and then an empirical analysis is conducted using time series from four global strategic alliances (Wings, Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam) and 124 alliance routes. The analysis concludes that, all other things being equal, strategic alliances do lead to a 9.4%, on average, improvement in passenger volume

How Do Airlines Perceive That Strategic Alliances Affect Their Individual Branding?

Much research has been carried out to evaluate the impact of strategic alliance membership on the performance of airlines. However it would be of interest to identify how airlines perceive this impact in terms of branding by each of the three global alliance groupings. It is the purpose of this paper to gather the opinion of airlines, belonging to the three strategic alliance groups, on the impact that the strategic alliance brands have had on their individual brands and how do they perceive that this impact will change in the future. To achieve this, a comprehensive survey of the alliance management and marketing departments of airlines participating in the three global strategic alliances was required. The results from this survey give an indication whether the strategic airline alliances, which are often referred to as marketing agreements, enhance, damage or have no impact on the individual airline brands

The impact of airline alliances on partners' traffic

Airline alliances have been dominating the air transport industry since the 1990s and by now the four strategic alliances, in which almost all of the major airlines participate, control the 56% of the world RPK. The thesis examines the airline alliance phenomenon in its entirety and more specifically, it examines the reasons and circumstances that have led to the formulation of these alliances and the impact these alliances have had on the participating airlines. A key parameter airlines use to assess their own performance and that of alliances is traffic. Thus, the present research examines alliances impact on the traffic of the allied partners by different types of routes (hub-hub, hub-non hub and non hub-non hub), different types of cooperation (FFP, code share, strategic alliance without and with antitrust immunity) and by the length of the route. In addition, the thesis analyses which alliance groupings, which type of airline and which geographical area have produced the best results from the alliances. To achieve these objectives, the thesis is divided into a theoretical and an empirical part. The theoretical approach starts with an industry alliance overview and then moves to the presentation of airline alliances, by discussing the reasons that have led to their establishment, the evolution of the regulatory framework around which airline alliances have developed, the definition of airline alliances, the different forms they have taken, their advantages and disadvantages; and finally, the past and current alliance groups. The empirical part focuses on the alliance traffic and analyses it around two different axes. The first consists of a survey in which the airlines participating in alliances were asked to assess their alliance participation and to quantify the impact of alliances on several parameters of their operation and performance and more specifically, on their passenger traffic. The second analyzes this impact on the basis of an econometric model that seeks to determine and measure any positive impact on traffic volume generated by alliances. The findings indicate that airlines are satisfied from their alliance experience as they have helped them achieve the main purpose for which they have resorted to alliances, that is to secure increased network coverage with little capital investment. Both the survey and the econometric model indicate that airline alliances have led to an increase in passenger traffic amounting to 10%. According to the survey, this traffic increase is mainly registered on hubhub routes while the econometric model indicates that this increase is evenly distributed on hub-hub and hub-non hub routes. The benefits result mostly from the marketing cooperation and appear within one or two years from the establishment of the alliance. Alliances may bring about cost reduction, but this depends on the level of integration among the partners. Almost all participants agree that alliances are the final stage of airline cooperation and that there will be no or very few mergers.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The Anopheles gambiae Odorant Binding Protein 1 (AgamOBP1) Mediates Indole Recognition in the Antennae of Female Mosquitoes

Haematophagous insects are frequently carriers of parasitic diseases, including malaria. The mosquito Anopheles gambiae is the major vector of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa and is thus responsible for thousands of deaths daily. Although the role of olfaction in A. gambiae host detection has been demonstrated, little is known about the combinations of ligands and odorant binding proteins (OBPs) that can produce specific odor-related responses in vivo. We identified a ligand, indole, for an A. gambiae odorant binding protein, AgamOBP1, modeled the interaction in silico and confirmed the interaction using biochemical assays. RNAi-mediated gene silencing coupled with electrophysiological analyses confirmed that AgamOBP1 binds indole in A. gambiae and that the antennal receptor cells do not respond to indole in the absence of AgamOBP1. This case represents the first documented instance of a specific A. gambiae OBP–ligand pairing combination, demonstrates the significance of OBPs in odor recognition, and can be expanded to the identification of other ligands for OBPs of Anopheles and other medically important insects

Construction, Complete Sequence, and Annotation of a BAC Contig Covering the Silkworm Chorion Locus

The silkmoth chorion was studied extensively by F.C. Kafatos’ group for almost 40 years. However, the complete structure of the chorion locus was not obtained in the genome sequence of Bombyx mori published in 2008 due to repetitive sequences, resulting in gaps and an incomplete view of the locus. To obtain the complete sequence of the chorion locus, expressed sequence tags (ESTs) derived from follicular epithelium cells were used as probes to screen a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library. Seven BACs were selected to construct a contig which covered the whole chorion locus. By Sanger sequencing, we successfully obtained complete sequences of the chorion locus spanning 871,711 base pairs on chromosome 2, where we annotated 127 chorion genes. The dataset reported here will recruit more researchers to revisit one of the oldest model systems which has been used to study developmentally regulated gene expression. It also provides insights into egg development and fertilization mechanisms and is relevant to applications related to improvements in breeding procedures and transgenesis

A Comprehensive Analysis of the Chorion Locus in Silkmoth

Despite more than 40 years of intense study, essential features of the silkmoth chorion (eggshell) are still not fully understood. To determine the precise structure of the chorion locus, we performed extensive EST analysis, constructed a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) contig, and obtained a continuous genomic sequence of 871,711 base pairs. We annotated 127 chorion genes in two segments interrupted by a 164 kb region with 5 non-chorion genes, orthologs of which were on chorion bearing scaffolds in 4 ditrysian families. Detailed transcriptome analysis revealed expression throughout choriogenesis of most chorion genes originally categorized as “middle”, and evidence for diverse regulatory mechanisms including cis-elements, alternative splicing and promoter utilization, and antisense RNA. Phylogenetic analysis revealed multigene family associations and faster evolution of early chorion genes and transcriptionally active pseudogenes. Proteomics analysis identified 99 chorion proteins in the eggshell and micropyle localization of 1 early and 6 Hc chorion proteins

RNA interference in Lepidoptera: an overview of successful and unsuccessful studies and implications for experimental design

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Expression and Membrane Topology of Anopheles gambiae Odorant Receptors in Lepidopteran Insect Cells

A lepidopteran insect cell-based expression system has been employed to express three Anopheles gambiae odorant receptors (ORs), OR1 and OR2, which respond to components of human sweat, and OR7, the ortholog of Drosophila's OR83b, the heteromerization partner of all functional ORs in that system. With the aid of epitope tagging and specific antibodies, efficient expression of all ORs was demonstrated and intrinsic properties of the proteins were revealed. Moreover, analysis of the orientation of OR1 and OR2 on the cellular plasma membrane through the use of a novel ‘topology screen’ assay and FACS analysis demonstrates that, as was recently reported for the ORs in Drosophila melanogaster, mosquito ORs also have a topology different than their mammalian counterparts with their N-terminal ends located in the cytoplasm and their C-terminal ends facing outside the cell. These results set the stage for the production of mosquito ORs in quantities that should permit their detailed biochemical and structural characterization and the exploration of their functional properties