The influence of business models and carrier nationality on airline liveries: An analysis of 637 airlines

This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in the Journal of Air Transport Management. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2012.01.017The colours and design motifs that are applied to the world’s commercial aircraft fleet are one of the most visible and familiar expressions of an airline’s brand and corporate identity. Some logos, including Lufthansa’s flying crane and American Airlines’ Eagle, have existed in various forms for over 80 years and have become iconic symbols of commercial flight whereas others have come and gone very quickly as new airlines have entered and left the marketplace. All airlines strive to develop corporate identities which not only convey the core essence of their brands in memorable, instantly recognisable, and culturally appropriate ways, but which also differentiate them from their competitors. One of the most visible and integral components of an airline’s corporate identity is the livery that is applied to its aircraft. However, despite the diversity and commercial importance of airline liveries, academic considerations of their form and content are rare. This paper reports on the findings of an in-depth visual content analysis of 637 global airline liveries. It identifies the most common design features and discovers that the use of particular colours, colour combinations, visual motifs, typefaces, and design characteristics vary both by the nature of an airline’s operation (whether full-service, low-cost, regional, charter, or cargo) and its geographic origin. The significance of the findings for current and future practices of airline marketing and corporate identity management is discussed

A Monte-Carlo approach to estimating the effects of selected airport capacity options in London

The issue of future airport capacity in London is currently the subject of much political debate in the UK. Although realistic estimates of the effects of capacity enhancement may be desirable, such estimates are difficult. Through the use of Monte Carlo simulation, this paper quantifies and compares the relative capacity enhancements that may be afforded by the construction of a new hub airport in the Thames Estuary, additional runways at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted and changes to operating practices at Heathrow. The simulations show that a new hub airport would be the most effective way to increase capacity, although the reported financial and environmental costs of such a development indicate a comparatively poor rate of return. Proposed new runways at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted and the removal of runway alternation at Heathrow provide more modest increases in capacity

Aeronautical charging policy incentive schemes for airlines at European airports

This article was accepted for publication in the of Air Transport Management. The definitive published version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2013.06.009This paper introduces the concept of incentive schemes that may accompany airports’ aeronautical charging policies and develops a taxonomy of such schemes based on an analysis of data for 46 European Airports held in the RDC Aviation database.1 This taxonomy details the different types of incentive schemes that in are operation. It is clear their use is widespread and that the magnitude of the incentive is often significant. A financial benchmarking analysis is undertaken for four selected airports to illustrate the extent of the variations between airports both in terms of the basic characteristics of the incentive schemes and in the periods over which the discounts are available

The potential use of consumer flight radar apps as a source of empirical data: A study of A320 utilization rates in Europe

This is an accepted manuscript of an article that was subsequently published in the Journal of Air Transport Management [© Elsevier]. The definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2012.08.004.Drawing on the results of a study that uses Pinkfroot's Plane Finder HD flight radar app for the iPad to document the utilisation rates of eight A320-200 airframes that were operated by four European airlines during January 2012, the paper assesses the potential for using flight radar apps as a source of empirical data to inform academic research. The paper discusses the potential benefits and drawbacks of using consumer flight radar apps for scholarly research and makes recommendations for how these new sources of flight data might be employed

Estimating the traffic impacts of green light optimal speed advisory systems using microsimulation

Even though signalised intersections are necessary for urban road traffic management, they can act as bottlenecks and disrupt traffic operations. Interrupted traffic flow causes congestion, delays, stop-and-go conditions (i.e., excessive acceleration/deceleration) and longer journey times. Vehicle and infrastructure connectivity offers the potential to provide improved new services with additional functions of assisting drivers. This paper focuses on one of the applications of vehicle-to-infrastructure communication namely Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory (GLOSA). To assess the effectiveness of GLOSA in urban road network an integrated microscopic traffic simulation framework is built into VISSIM software. Vehicle movements and vehicle-infrastructure communications are simulated through the interface of External Driver Model. A control algorithm is developed for recommending an optimal speed that is continuously updated in every time step for all vehicles approaching a signal-controlled point. This algorithm allows vehicles to pass a traffic signal without stopping or to minimise stopping times at a red phase. This study is performed with all connected vehicles at 100% penetration rate. Conventional vehicles are also simulated in the same network as a reference. A straight road segment composed of two opposite directions with two traffic lights per lane is studied. The simulation is implemented under 150 vehicles per hour and 200 per hour traffic volume conditions to identify how different traffic densities influence the benefits of GLOSA. The results indicate that traffic flow is improved by the application of GLOSA. According to this study, vehicles passed through the traffic lights more smoothly, and waiting times were reduced by up to 28 seconds. Average delays decreased for the entire network by 86.46% and 83.84% under traffic densities of 150 vehicles per hour per lane and 200 vehicles per hour per lane, respectively