The determinants of full-service carriers airfares in European hub-to-hub markets

This paper explores the factors influencing the pricing behaviour of full-service carriers in European hub-to-hub markets. Drawing on a 2009 dataset containing route and airfare information, we establish an econometric model to estimate the impact of route structure, alliances, and market concentration on the pricing of European full-service carriers in these markets. The results suggest that alliances on routes connecting two primary hubs, airport concentration, market share inequality and competition from low-cost carriers influence average airfares of full-service carriers in the European hub-to-hub markets

Dynamics in the European Air Transport Network, 2003-9 : an explanatory framework drawing on stochastic actor-based modeling

In this paper, we outline and test an explanatory framework drawing on stochastic actor-based modeling to understand changes in the outline of European air transport networks between 2003 and 2009. Stochastic actor-based models show their capabilities to estimate and test the effect of exogenous and endogenous drivers on network changes in this application to the air transport network. Our results reveal that endogenous structural effects, such as transitivity triads, indirect relations and betweenness effects impact the development of the European air transport network in the period under investigation. In addition, exogenous nodal and dyadic covariates also play a role, with above all the enlargement of the European Common Aviation Area having benefitted its new members to open more air routes between them. The emergence of major low-cost airline-focused airports also significantly contributed to these changes. We conclude by outlining some avenues for further research

The impact of hub hierarchy and market competition on airfare pricing in US hub-to-hub markets

Over the past years, full-service carriers in Europe have deployed multi-hub-and-spoke systems by joining alliances to exploit network economies. The concentration of flights on a small group of airports leads to the emergence of ‘fortress hubs’ and subsequently creates hub-to-hub markets in Europe reminiscent of the US aviation market. This paper explores the factors influencing the pricing behaviour of full-service carriers in European hub-to-hub markets. Drawing on a 2009 dataset containing route and airfare information, we establish an econometric model to estimate the impact of route structure, alliances, and market concentration on the pricing of European full-service carriers in these markets. Three types of hubs (i.e., primary, secondary and tertiary hubs) are hereby identified to investigate the route structure within the hub-to-hub network. The stepwise regression results suggest that alliances on routes connecting two primary hubs, market share inequality and competition from low-cost carriers influence average airfares of full-service carriers in the European hub-to-hub markets

Community detection in airline networks : an empirical analysis of American vs. Southwest airlines

In this paper, we develop a route-traffic-based method for detecting community structures in airline networks. Our model is both an application and an extension of the Clauset-Newman-Moore (CNM) modularity maximization algorithm, in that we apply the CNM algorithm to large airline networks, and take both route distance and passenger volumes into account. Therefore, the relationships between airports are defined not only based on the topological structure of the network but also by a traffic-driven indicator. To illustrate our model, two case studies are presented: American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. Results show that the model is effective in exploring the characteristics of the network connections, including the detection of the most influential nodes and communities on the formation of different network structures. This information is important from an airline operation pattern perspective to identify the vulnerability of networks

The determinants of full-service carriers airfares in European hub-to-hub markets

This paper explores the factors influencing the pricing behaviour of full-service carriers in European hub-to-hub markets. Drawing on a 2009 dataset containing route and airfare information, we establish an econometric model to estimate the impact of route structure, alliances, and market concentration on the pricing of European full-service carriers in these markets. The results suggest that alliances on routes connecting two primary hubs, airport concentration, market share inequality and competition from low-cost carriers influence average airfares of full-service carriers in the European hub-to-hub markets

Fare effects and dynamics of network structure in the air transport industry : empirical studies from the United States and Europe

This dissertation investigates fare effects and dynamics of network structure in the air transport industry through case studies from the United States and Europe. Econometric models are established to examine factors influencing the pricing behavior of full-service carriers in hub-to-hub networks in the United States and Europe, taking into account route and market structure as potential explanatory factors. A stochastic actor-based modeling technique is applied to examine the main elements driving changes in the European air transport network between 2003 and 2009. Traffic changes at secondary airports in the European Union and United States are explored in the context of EU/US Open Skies agreement during 2005-2008

The impact of hub hierarchy, alliances and concentration on airfare pricing in European hub-to-hub markets

Over the past years, full-service carriers in Europe have deployed multi-hub-and-spoke systems by joining alliances to exploit network economies. The concentration of flights on a small group of airports leads to the emergence of ‘fortress hubs’ and subsequently creates hub-to-hub markets in Europe reminiscent of the US aviation market. This paper explores the factors influencing the pricing behaviour of full-service carriers in European hub-to-hub markets. Drawing on a 2009 dataset containing route and airfare information, we establish an econometric model to estimate the impact of route structure, alliances, and market concentration on the pricing of European full-service carriers in these markets. Three types of hubs (i.e., primary, secondary and tertiary hubs) are hereby identified to investigate the route structure within the hub-to-hub network. The stepwise regression results suggest that alliances on routes connecting two primary hubs, market share inequality and competition from low-cost carriers influence average airfares of full-service carriers in the European hub-to-hub markets

Simulation analysis on flight delay propagation under different network configurations

This paper investigates flight delay propagation in air transportation networks (ATNs) by considering both network structures and airport operation performance. An airport susceptible-infected-recovered (ASIR) model is established based on the mechanism of epidemic spreading, where the focus is on the impact of the infection rate in order to properly map and understand the probability of delay propagation. Different network configurations are abstracted under complex network theory, in which the ASIR model can be simulated upon. The simulation results show that the original airport traffic, airport connection and the level of airport turnaround services play important roles in influencing delay propagation in different airports. In addition, changes of network structure such as the emerging of secondary hubs can also influence the delay propagation

Analysing airport efficiency in East China using a three-stage data envelopment analysis

This paper evaluates the Technical Efficiencies (TEs) of a group of airports in East China by applying a three-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. The merit of this method allows us to consider the impact of the environmental factors on measuring airport efficiencies. Three variables, i.e. per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the proportion of the tertiary industry, and the number of tourists, are used to represent the environmental factors. The results show that the environmental factors have airport-specific impacts on the value of the efficiencies. Additionally, airport TE are dominated by both Pure Technical Efficiency (PTE) and Scale Efficiency (SE). Based on empirical results, airport specific strategies can be provided to enhance airport efficiency, such as taking the effects of environmental variables and the statistical noise into consideration when analysing the airport efficiency, improving airport efficiencies according to their own conditions and improving the PTE or SE according to their categorizations

The Analysis and Calculation Method of Urban Rail Transit Carrying Capacity Based on Express-Slow Mode

Urban railway transport that connects suburbs and city areas is characterized by uneven temporal and spatial distribution in terms of passenger flow and underutilized carrying capacity. This paper aims to develop methodologies to measure the carrying capacity of the urban railway by introducing a concept of the express-slow mode. We first explore factors influencing the carrying capacity under the express-slow mode and the interactive relationships among these factors. Then we establish seven different scenarios to measure the carrying capacity by considering the ratio of the number of the express trains and the slow trains, the station where overtaking takes place, and the number of overtaking maneuvers. Taking Shanghai Metro Line 16 as an empirical study, the proposed methods to measure the carrying capacity under different express-slow mode are proved to be valid. This paper contributes to the literature by remodifying the traditional methods to measure the carrying capacity when different express-slow modes are applied to improve the carrying capacity of the suburban railway