Pub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2025-12-23DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102955
Xiaoqian Sun , Changhong Zheng , Xiaowen Fu , Martin Dresner , Anming Zhang , Sebastian Wandelt
Investigating the productivity of airlines in these times is crucial to compare airlines’ performance against peers during a period marked by significant changes in travel demand, operational protocols, and market dynamics. In this study, we present the results of an airline benchmark for the year 2022. Specifically, we collected data for 76 out of 200 largest airlines according to the number of transported passengers in the year 2022. To perform a comprehensive productivity analysis among these airlines, we use eight indicators from the literature, including aggregated ones, such as Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and Residual Total Factor Productivity (RTFP), as well as more specific indicators, such as labor productivity and fuel productivity. As a result of our investigation, we report on the outperforming airlines in two distinct categories: Full-service carriers and low-cost airlines. We believe that this benchmark is a natural complement to existing work on airport benchmarking and will help researchers as well as policy makers to guide airlines towards efficient and sustainable air transportation.
{"title":"Global airline productivity analysis for the year 2022","authors":"Xiaoqian Sun , Changhong Zheng , Xiaowen Fu , Martin Dresner , Anming Zhang , Sebastian Wandelt","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102955","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102955","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Investigating the productivity of airlines in these times is crucial to compare airlines’ performance against peers during a period marked by significant changes in travel demand, operational protocols, and market dynamics. In this study, we present the results of an airline benchmark for the year 2022. Specifically, we collected data for 76 out of 200 largest airlines according to the number of transported passengers in the year 2022. To perform a comprehensive productivity analysis among these airlines, we use eight indicators from the literature, including aggregated ones, such as Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and Residual Total Factor Productivity (RTFP), as well as more specific indicators, such as labor productivity and fuel productivity. As a result of our investigation, we report on the outperforming airlines in two distinct categories: Full-service carriers and low-cost airlines. We believe that this benchmark is a natural complement to existing work on airport benchmarking and will help researchers as well as policy makers to guide airlines towards efficient and sustainable air transportation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 102955"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145802129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2025-12-29DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102962
Renwei Liu , Haishan Xia , Lu Li , Qi Li , Sitong Liu
The emergence of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) technology has enabled large-scale implementation of urban air mobility (UAM) within cities. This study proposes a vertiport-siting optimization method based on public transit stations to better utilize existing urban resources for UAM development. The study also maximizes the combined strengths of UAM's flexibility and efficiency with the high-capacity characteristics of traditional transit systems, addressing future mobility demands that feature both decentralization and urban agglomeration. The proposed method minimizes travel costs between public transit stations and vertiport locations while incorporating population density as a weighting factor to enhance the objective function. Two siting strategies were compared regarding travel costs and spatial service coverage. Using Shenzhen's Bao'an District as a case study, results indicate that the population-weighted optimization approach reduces distance-based travel costs by 12.6 % and improves coverage in core functional zones by approximately 20 %, significantly enhancing spatial service efficiency. This study diverges from traditional infrastructure-led siting approaches by emphasizing the foundational role of public transit systems in shaping UAM networks. It introduces a three-dimensional urban planning concept that integrates transit-oriented development (TOD) with UAM, offering a new pathway for reshaping urban spatial structures and improving spatial efficiency in future cities.
{"title":"Transit oriented development under the influence of urban air mobility: A public transit-based vertiport siting method","authors":"Renwei Liu , Haishan Xia , Lu Li , Qi Li , Sitong Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102962","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102962","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The emergence of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) technology has enabled large-scale implementation of urban air mobility (UAM) within cities. This study proposes a vertiport-siting optimization method based on public transit stations to better utilize existing urban resources for UAM development. The study also maximizes the combined strengths of UAM's flexibility and efficiency with the high-capacity characteristics of traditional transit systems, addressing future mobility demands that feature both decentralization and urban agglomeration. The proposed method minimizes travel costs between public transit stations and vertiport locations while incorporating population density as a weighting factor to enhance the objective function. Two siting strategies were compared regarding travel costs and spatial service coverage. Using Shenzhen's Bao'an District as a case study, results indicate that the population-weighted optimization approach reduces distance-based travel costs by 12.6 % and improves coverage in core functional zones by approximately 20 %, significantly enhancing spatial service efficiency. This study diverges from traditional infrastructure-led siting approaches by emphasizing the foundational role of public transit systems in shaping UAM networks. It introduces a three-dimensional urban planning concept that integrates transit-oriented development (TOD) with UAM, offering a new pathway for reshaping urban spatial structures and improving spatial efficiency in future cities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 102962"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145881707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The aviation industry is facing challenges in meeting the evolved expectations of travelers in the post-COVID era in which their expectations are expressed in their online reviews. Unprecedented proliferation of passenger reviews on online platforms has resulted in a deluge of unstructured data. Hence, in order to assess customers’ attitudes and behaviors, this study utilized machine learning technique including topic modelling and sentiment analysis through analyzing passenger review data extracted from Skytrax for the top 100 low-cost and flagship airlines in 2024. Two most popular topic modelling methods, Latent Dirichlet Allocation and BERTopic were applied to identify recurrent themes. The results show that flight delays, schedule-related issues, communication gaps, and lack of pricing transparency were underscored by passengers as major shortcomings. Low-cost carrier passengers were more focused on operational reliability; whereas, flagship airline passengers were mainly concerned about extra charges and quality of services. The sentiment analysis reveals that cultural and regional differences have influenced customer satisfaction regarding the airline types, continents, cabin comfort, handling of baggage, and in-flight service provision. This research contributes to existing service quality research by extending the traditional methods of assessing customer attitudes and behaviors. The findings provide insightful guidance for airlines to improve service offerings and attract customer patronage.
{"title":"An alternative approach to understanding airline customers’ attitudes and behaviors","authors":"Somaye Mansouri , Saeed Moradpour , Catherine Prentice","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102960","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102960","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The aviation industry is facing challenges in meeting the evolved expectations of travelers in the post-COVID era in which their expectations are expressed in their online reviews. Unprecedented proliferation of passenger reviews on online platforms has resulted in a deluge of unstructured data. Hence, in order to assess customers’ attitudes and behaviors, this study utilized machine learning technique including topic modelling and sentiment analysis through analyzing passenger review data extracted from Skytrax for the top 100 low-cost and flagship airlines in 2024. Two most popular topic modelling methods, Latent Dirichlet Allocation and BERTopic were applied to identify recurrent themes. The results show that flight delays, schedule-related issues, communication gaps, and lack of pricing transparency were underscored by passengers as major shortcomings. Low-cost carrier passengers were more focused on operational reliability; whereas, flagship airline passengers were mainly concerned about extra charges and quality of services. The sentiment analysis reveals that cultural and regional differences have influenced customer satisfaction regarding the airline types, continents, cabin comfort, handling of baggage, and in-flight service provision. This research contributes to existing service quality research by extending the traditional methods of assessing customer attitudes and behaviors. The findings provide insightful guidance for airlines to improve service offerings and attract customer patronage.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 102960"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145882136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The growing emphasis on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance has raised critical questions about its integration into business strategy and its implications for firm performance. Despite the increasing prevalence of ESG metrics in corporate reporting, empirical evidence linking ESG adoption to strategic value remains limited. This study investigates whether and how ESG performance enhances business operational and financial performance in the U.S. airline industry. Leveraging panel data from major U.S. airlines between 2006 and 2022, we employ Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and fixed-effects panel regression to assess the relationship between ESG performance, operational efficiency, and financial performance. Our findings reveal that improvements in ESG performance lead to higher efficiency and better financial results, with efficiency playing a mediating role. Additionally, among the ESG dimensions, enhancements in environmental and governance practices exert a stronger influence on efficiency than social initiatives. This research highlights the strategic importance of ESG integration, offering actionable insights for managers and policymakers aiming to foster long-term value through sustainable business practices. By bridging the gap between ESG performance and business outcome, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of how sustainability can be leveraged as a source of competitive advantage.
{"title":"Sustainability and financial performance: How efficiency mediates the ESG-financial performance relationship in the Airline industry","authors":"Fahimeh Chomachaei , Sepideh Kaffash , Mine Ertugrul","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2026.102976","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2026.102976","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The growing emphasis on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance has raised critical questions about its integration into business strategy and its implications for firm performance. Despite the increasing prevalence of ESG metrics in corporate reporting, empirical evidence linking ESG adoption to strategic value remains limited. This study investigates whether and how ESG performance enhances business operational and financial performance in the U.S. airline industry. Leveraging panel data from major U.S. airlines between 2006 and 2022, we employ Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and fixed-effects panel regression to assess the relationship between ESG performance, operational efficiency, and financial performance. Our findings reveal that improvements in ESG performance lead to higher efficiency and better financial results, with efficiency playing a mediating role. Additionally, among the ESG dimensions, enhancements in environmental and governance practices exert a stronger influence on efficiency than social initiatives. This research highlights the strategic importance of ESG integration, offering actionable insights for managers and policymakers aiming to foster long-term value through sustainable business practices. By bridging the gap between ESG performance and business outcome, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of how sustainability can be leveraged as a source of competitive advantage.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 102976"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146034656","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-01-15DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2026.102971
Punyabeet Sarangi, K.C. Anuj
This study presents a comparative analysis of univariate time-series (ARIMA, SARIMA, ETS) and deep learning models (RNN and LSTM) for forecasting post-COVID domestic and international air passenger demand at eight major Indian airports: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune. Utilizing quarterly data from 2016 to 2023, performance of time-series and deep learning models is evaluated against actual 2024 air traffic data using MAPE, MAE, and RMSE indices. Results demonstrate that model efficacy is highly context-specific. SARIMA consistently outperforms ARIMA in capturing seasonality, while LSTM excels at modeling non-linear complexities, and ETS proves robust for airports with clear trends. Crucially, a SARIMAX model integrating exogenous drivers, including net domestic product, network connectivity, and operational metrics, significantly enhanced forecasting accuracy, particularly for international travel, underscoring the importance of these drivers. The coefficients reveal several interesting policy scenarios, such as enhancing domestic and international connectivity, particularly at emerging hubs, stimulates passenger growth, while densely populated catchments require investments in multimodal integration to counter negative demand. The findings challenge the presumption of a universal forecasting framework and underscore the inefficiency of relying solely on univariate models, advocating for a tailored approach that incorporates key exogenous variables for resilient air traffic management.
{"title":"Resilience in the skies: Modeling domestic and international air passenger demand in multiple Indian airports","authors":"Punyabeet Sarangi, K.C. Anuj","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2026.102971","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2026.102971","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study presents a comparative analysis of univariate time-series (ARIMA, SARIMA, ETS) and deep learning models (RNN and LSTM) for forecasting post-COVID domestic and international air passenger demand at eight major Indian airports: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune. Utilizing quarterly data from 2016 to 2023, performance of time-series and deep learning models is evaluated against actual 2024 air traffic data using MAPE, MAE, and RMSE indices. Results demonstrate that model efficacy is highly context-specific. SARIMA consistently outperforms ARIMA in capturing seasonality, while LSTM excels at modeling non-linear complexities, and ETS proves robust for airports with clear trends. Crucially, a SARIMAX model integrating exogenous drivers, including net domestic product, network connectivity, and operational metrics, significantly enhanced forecasting accuracy, particularly for international travel, underscoring the importance of these drivers. The coefficients reveal several interesting policy scenarios, such as enhancing domestic and international connectivity, particularly at emerging hubs, stimulates passenger growth, while densely populated catchments require investments in multimodal integration to counter negative demand. The findings challenge the presumption of a universal forecasting framework and underscore the inefficiency of relying solely on univariate models, advocating for a tailored approach that incorporates key exogenous variables for resilient air traffic management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 102971"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145977985","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-01-24DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2026.102974
Fecri Karanki , Chunyan Yu
This study investigates the convergence of cost efficiency among Full-Service Airlines (FSAs) and Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs), focusing on whether alignment in operational strategies extends to both persistent and transient cost efficiency. While evolving economic pressures such as fluctuating fuel prices, labor costs, and market deregulation have encouraged convergence in airline business models, the effects on cost efficiency remain uncertain. Using data from U.S. airlines spanning 2000 to 2019 and applying a four-component stochastic frontier analysis, our findings indicate convergence in transient cost efficiency, reflecting short-term operational adjustments, but not in persistent cost efficiency, where FSAs consistently outperform LCCs. This structural advantage provides FSAs with greater long-term cost discipline and strategic flexibility. Analysis of inefficiency determinants further shows that network structure plays a dominant role in shaping persistent inefficiency, i.e., denser networks increase long-run inefficiency, whereas greater reliance on nonstop flights enhances structural efficiency. On the transient side, capacity utilization significantly reduces short-run inefficiency, while higher ancillary revenue share is associated with increased short-run inefficiency. These findings highlight that convergence across business models is limited to short-run operational responses; meaningful convergence in long-run cost efficiency would require fundamental and sustained changes to network architecture and business model design.
{"title":"Airline industry transformation: Does cost efficiency reflect business model convergence?","authors":"Fecri Karanki , Chunyan Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2026.102974","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2026.102974","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the convergence of cost efficiency among Full-Service Airlines (FSAs) and Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs), focusing on whether alignment in operational strategies extends to both persistent and transient cost efficiency. While evolving economic pressures such as fluctuating fuel prices, labor costs, and market deregulation have encouraged convergence in airline business models, the effects on cost efficiency remain uncertain. Using data from U.S. airlines spanning 2000 to 2019 and applying a four-component stochastic frontier analysis, our findings indicate convergence in transient cost efficiency, reflecting short-term operational adjustments, but not in persistent cost efficiency, where FSAs consistently outperform LCCs. This structural advantage provides FSAs with greater long-term cost discipline and strategic flexibility. Analysis of inefficiency determinants further shows that network structure plays a dominant role in shaping persistent inefficiency, i.e., denser networks increase long-run inefficiency, whereas greater reliance on nonstop flights enhances structural efficiency. On the transient side, capacity utilization significantly reduces short-run inefficiency, while higher ancillary revenue share is associated with increased short-run inefficiency. These findings highlight that convergence across business models is limited to short-run operational responses; meaningful convergence in long-run cost efficiency would require fundamental and sustained changes to network architecture and business model design.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 102974"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146034655","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2025-11-29DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102938
Gradiyan Budi Pratama , Carlo Caponecchia
Studies in the aviation industry have suggested that differences in national culture profiles may be related to different incident rates across countries and regions. Developing a better understanding of the role of national culture in aviation incidents has therefore been recognised as an important part of continuous improvement. This study aims to examine perceptions on the contribution of national culture factors to aviation incidents, identify examples of national culture-related behaviours that should be anticipated in the aviation safety context, and explore the potential benefits of identifying national culture factors in aviation incidents. Interviews with 16 experienced aviation incident investigators from Indonesia and Australia were conducted. All subject matter experts interviewed in this study confirmed that aviation safety is potentially influenced by national culture factors. These factors were reported to be more apparent when comparing behaviours between the cultures of "Eastern" and "Western" countries. Several examples relevant to national culture were identified by interviewees, such as the cultural elements of steep hierarchies, collectivism, and risk-taking tendencies. Subject matter experts suggested that a more structured identification of national culture factors as part of aviation incident investigations could deliver advantages for the continuous improvement of the aviation system. The identified potential benefits of national culture identification included increased awareness among flight operators, the improvement of standard procedures, and the development of training programs & regulations to counter the potential negative effects of culture in specific countries.
{"title":"The importance of national culture factors identification in aviation incident analysis","authors":"Gradiyan Budi Pratama , Carlo Caponecchia","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102938","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102938","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Studies in the aviation industry have suggested that differences in national culture profiles may be related to different incident rates across countries and regions. Developing a better understanding of the role of national culture in aviation incidents has therefore been recognised as an important part of continuous improvement. This study aims to examine perceptions on the contribution of national culture factors to aviation incidents, identify examples of national culture-related behaviours that should be anticipated in the aviation safety context, and explore the potential benefits of identifying national culture factors in aviation incidents. Interviews with 16 experienced aviation incident investigators from Indonesia and Australia were conducted. All subject matter experts interviewed in this study confirmed that aviation safety is potentially influenced by national culture factors. These factors were reported to be more apparent when comparing behaviours between the cultures of \"Eastern\" and \"Western\" countries. Several examples relevant to national culture were identified by interviewees, such as the cultural elements of steep hierarchies, collectivism, and risk-taking tendencies. Subject matter experts suggested that a more structured identification of national culture factors as part of aviation incident investigations could deliver advantages for the continuous improvement of the aviation system. The identified potential benefits of national culture identification included increased awareness among flight operators, the improvement of standard procedures, and the development of training programs & regulations to counter the potential negative effects of culture in specific countries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"132 ","pages":"Article 102938"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145617339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102949
Fabian Kianpour
{"title":"Service innovations in airlines: A frontline employee perspective","authors":"Fabian Kianpour","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102949","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102949","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"132 ","pages":"Article 102949"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145682224","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102927
Xiaoyao Zhao, Xuting Sun
In aviation operations, the airline and maintenance service provider (MSP) have a close collaborative relationship, and their operational decisions often influence each other. However, in practical operational environments, flight delays negatively affect both stakeholders involved in this decision-making system, which reduces the robustness of the tactical decisions and overall system performance at the operational level. To address this issue, we propose a novel bilevel optimization framework that explicitly models the interaction between maintenance resource allocation and aircraft routing with the consideration of primary delay and delay propagation. To tackle the intrinsic complexity of this NP-hard problem, we design an accelerated bilevel solution approach that integrates customized heuristics for practical scalability. By enabling iterative coordination between the MSP and the airline, our approach allows both parties to optimize their tactical decisions in response to operational disruptions, thereby systematically enhancing the robustness of both aircraft maintenance and routing decisions. Extensive experiments on real-world datasets validate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed framework. Based on seven weekly scenarios, the results show that the proposed bilevel model achieves reduction on the number of flight cancellations and yields notable day-of-operation savings. Comparative results verify that this collaborative decision-making mechanism yields lower operational costs for the airline and improved service efficiency for the MSP, consistently outperforming several baseline models which neglect delay propagation or collaborative mechanisms. These findings demonstrate the potential of our framework as well as solution approach as an intelligent decision support tool for addressing delay-induced disruptions in aircraft maintenance routing. Some actionable insights suach as proactive and flexiable maintenance operations via re-routing are obtained as well.
{"title":"Data-driven collaborative optimization between the airline and maintenance service provider: A Bi-level acceleration framework","authors":"Xiaoyao Zhao, Xuting Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102927","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102927","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In aviation operations, the airline and maintenance service provider (MSP) have a close collaborative relationship, and their operational decisions often influence each other. However, in practical operational environments, flight delays negatively affect both stakeholders involved in this decision-making system, which reduces the robustness of the tactical decisions and overall system performance at the operational level. To address this issue, we propose a novel bilevel optimization framework that explicitly models the interaction between maintenance resource allocation and aircraft routing with the consideration of primary delay and delay propagation. To tackle the intrinsic complexity of this NP-hard problem, we design an accelerated bilevel solution approach that integrates customized heuristics for practical scalability. By enabling iterative coordination between the MSP and the airline, our approach allows both parties to optimize their tactical decisions in response to operational disruptions, thereby systematically enhancing the robustness of both aircraft maintenance and routing decisions. Extensive experiments on real-world datasets validate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed framework. Based on seven weekly scenarios, the results show that the proposed bilevel model achieves reduction on the number of flight cancellations and yields notable day-of-operation savings. Comparative results verify that this collaborative decision-making mechanism yields lower operational costs for the airline and improved service efficiency for the MSP, consistently outperforming several baseline models which neglect delay propagation or collaborative mechanisms. These findings demonstrate the potential of our framework as well as solution approach as an intelligent decision support tool for addressing delay-induced disruptions in aircraft maintenance routing. Some actionable insights suach as proactive and flexiable maintenance operations via re-routing are obtained as well.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"132 ","pages":"Article 102927"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145682225","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2025-11-25DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102934
Mengying Fu , Mohammed M. Othman , Rolf Moeckel , Mirko Hornung , Constantinos Antoniou
Regional Air Mobility can shorten door-to-door travel time and, when electrified, lower emissions, but evidence on market demand and passenger adoption remains limited, because real-world operations are scarce and few studies quantify willingness to pay. This study addresses this gap by assessing market potential and adoption in Germany. We collected stated preference survey data from 1518 non-business and 401 business travelers, and estimated multinomial logit and mixed logit mode choice models to quantify how travel time, ticket price, and emissions influence preferences for Regional Air Mobility. Results show distinct patterns by trip purpose. Compared with conventional airliners, 19-seat commuter services are preferred and can achieve a mode share of up to 31% in the business travel market. Business travelers show a higher willingness to pay for time savings, between €102 and €130 per hour for hybrid-electric 19-seat aircraft, and both business and non-business travelers are highly sensitive to ticket price. Preference for commuter aircraft is strongest among high-income and frequent business travelers, while among leisure travelers, openness is greater for younger and technology-oriented individuals. Hybrid-electric options are more attractive to respondents with stronger environmental commitment. These findings inform decisions by stakeholders on service design and operations, network planning, aircraft design, and policy.
{"title":"User preferences for Regional Air Mobility: Insights from Germany","authors":"Mengying Fu , Mohammed M. Othman , Rolf Moeckel , Mirko Hornung , Constantinos Antoniou","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102934","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102934","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Regional Air Mobility can shorten door-to-door travel time and, when electrified, lower emissions, but evidence on market demand and passenger adoption remains limited, because real-world operations are scarce and few studies quantify willingness to pay. This study addresses this gap by assessing market potential and adoption in Germany. We collected stated preference survey data from 1518 non-business and 401 business travelers, and estimated multinomial logit and mixed logit mode choice models to quantify how travel time, ticket price, and emissions influence preferences for Regional Air Mobility. Results show distinct patterns by trip purpose. Compared with conventional airliners, 19-seat commuter services are preferred and can achieve a mode share of up to 31% in the business travel market. Business travelers show a higher willingness to pay for time savings, between €102 and €130 per hour for hybrid-electric 19-seat aircraft, and both business and non-business travelers are highly sensitive to ticket price. Preference for commuter aircraft is strongest among high-income and frequent business travelers, while among leisure travelers, openness is greater for younger and technology-oriented individuals. Hybrid-electric options are more attractive to respondents with stronger environmental commitment. These findings inform decisions by stakeholders on service design and operations, network planning, aircraft design, and policy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"132 ","pages":"Article 102934"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145594696","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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