{"title":"Integrated hub airport location and fleets planning for airline-alliance-oriented freight transport system","authors":"Yu Zheng , Yi Huang , Hua Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102889","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102889","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rapid growth of e-commerce has led to a surge in air cargo demand. Rather than operating independently, airlines are increasingly collaborating to capture a larger market share. This study investigates the integrated hub airport location and fleet planning problem under the context of airline alliances to enhance sustainable urban freight transportation. Three optimization models are proposed in different airline cooperation modes: i) model INDHL-INDFP, where airlines independently determine hub airport locations and fleet planning, ii) model INTHL-INDFP, where airlines collaboratively decide hub airport locations while planning fleets individually based on their cargo demand, and iii) model INTHLFP, where airlines make integrated decisions on both hub locations and fleet planning. These models are applied to networks of varying scales, and their performance is compared. Results indicate that integrated decision-making within airline alliances effectively reduces total system costs, with cost-saving benefits becoming more pronounced as network size increases. Additionally, this approach aligns freighter capacity with cargo demand, enhancing system resilience to demand fluctuations. Sensitivity analysis further reveals that the optimal number of hub airports depends on network scale and varies under different airline cooperation strategies. Moreover, network size significantly influences the determination of the maximum number of flights connected to other hubs for a hub. This study provides valuable insights into optimizing airline cooperation strategies to improve efficiency and sustainability in air cargo transportation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"130 ","pages":"Article 102889"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144904647","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}
Yuxiang Tang, Li Wang, Wenxuan Kang, Wenchao Liu, Yufeng Zhuang
{"title":"Electric and fuel aircraft schedule optimizing problem with battery charging and swapping — The case of flight in china","authors":"Yuxiang Tang, Li Wang, Wenxuan Kang, Wenchao Liu, Yufeng Zhuang","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102890","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102890","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Under the trend of electrification, civil aviation is promoting electric aircraft to reduce emissions. In recent years, technological advancements have opened up the possibility of employing electric aircraft in flight routes. This paper will explore the scheduling problem of electric and fuel aircraft. The mixed operation mode of electric and fuel aircraft is necessary in the current state of green development since electric aircraft currently face significant challenges for operators of long haul routes. Meanwhile, the battery swapping technology can significantly reduce aircraft charging time at airports. Therefore, this paper investigates the optimization problem of the electric and fuel aircraft schedule with battery charging and swapping (ef-ASOP). We introduce a mixed integer programming formulation for the ef-ASOP to minimize total emission, charging, swapping and delay costs. The constraints of the model consider flow, charging and time constraints. We propose M-parameters bounds and two valid inequalities for model enhancement. The Air China case study demonstrates practical insights. The results show that an increase in the number of electric aircraft and battery capacity leads to a reduction in emission costs and an increase in delay costs. Electric aircraft and fuel aircraft are complementary. Some long haul routes cannot be operated by electric aircraft, but can be met by fuel aircraft. At the same time, fuel aircraft also help reduce delay costs. Meanwhile, more widespread deployment of battery swapping stations can reduce delays and improve passenger satisfaction.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"130 ","pages":"Article 102890"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144933012","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}
Steven Tanner McCullough , Ariana Grant , Evan Mistur , June Young Park
{"title":"Applying Large Language Models to investigate how people with disabilities interact at airports","authors":"Steven Tanner McCullough , Ariana Grant , Evan Mistur , June Young Park","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102880","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102880","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rapid transition in social and environmental conditions consistently demand changes in how airport facilities are operated and managed, creating an ongoing stream of new and unique barriers to accessibility. In this paper, a novel framework in conjunction with Large Language Model (LLM) and accessibility design standards is used to discover the perceived accessibility of people with disability (PWD) in airports, mined from location-based social media reviews. The analysis uncovered key insights into how different airports perform in terms of accessibility among 64 hub airports in the United States. While some airports excel in most areas that are legislated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), others face challenges in providing consistent and inclusive experiences. Primarily, the initial arrival experiences at airports are seen as the most significant factor influencing PWD overall perceptions of accessibility throughout the entire airport, highlighting the importance of consistent and effective first contact in shaping the journey of PWD.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"130 ","pages":"Article 102880"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144917847","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}
{"title":"Technological progress and biases in airline productivity: A network MPI analysis under external disruptions","authors":"Ming-Miin Yu , Li-Hsueh Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102892","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102892","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study aims to investigate the significant role of technological progress and its biases among different factors and outputs within a two-stage network production technology structure in influencing productivity changes in airlines. To address variations in productivity under external disruptions and market fluctuations, this study develops a novel network Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) decomposition model, identifying both inter-group biases between inputs and outputs and intra-group biases among input factors and outputs. Analyzing data from 2015 to 2021 for 16 global airlines, the study measures productivity changes and their components within the network production framework. The technological change is decomposed to analyze the bias characteristics of input factors such as labor and operational expenses, intermediate products like available seat kilometers and available freight ton kilometers, and output factors including revenue passenger kilometers and revenue freight ton kilometers. The findings indicate that efficiency improvements and technological progress are primary drivers of productivity growth, while output-biased technological change limits this growth. Efficiency improvements, increased magnitude of technological change, and input-biased technological change in the service stage contribute to overall productivity gains, mitigating the negative impact of efficiency deterioration and reduced technological change in the production stage. Notably, productivity regressed during 2020–2021, reflecting operational disruptions caused by external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. These results suggest that targeted technological advancements and efficiency improvements in specific production and service stages can significantly influence overall productivity. The study provides strategic insights for airlines to navigate disruptions, emphasizing the importance of understanding and managing technological biases to enhance productivity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"130 ","pages":"Article 102892"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144933099","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}
{"title":"The reciprocal impact between air passenger transport and international tourism in Singapore","authors":"Quang Hai Nguyen","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102877","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102877","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the interplay between air passenger transport and international tourism through the role of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and trade openness in 11 key markets of Singapore. Co-integration tests indicate that although air passenger transport and international tourism may not be individually stable in some markets, their fluctuations are strongly and durably related. The estimation results using a combined SARIMA (Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average), X (exogenous factors), and GARCH (Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity) model show that there is a strong interrelationship between air passenger transport and the number of international tourists to Singapore, but air passenger transport is less sensitive to fluctuations in the number of international tourists. GDP and trade openness also have significant impacts on the demand for both sectors, but at different levels across markets. The cyclical, seasonal, and external shock effects found in air passenger transport and international tourism indicate the diversity in behavior and characteristics of each market. The research results provide a basis for managers and policymakers to forecast and formulate development policies for tourism and air transport.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"129 ","pages":"Article 102877"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144771885","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}
{"title":"Profit Efficiency: Insight into airline business models and strategic choices","authors":"Fecri Karanki , Roger Schaufele","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102863","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102863","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Following a challenging start to the 21st century, airlines rebounded to achieve record profits in the aftermath of the Great Recession (2007–2009). While profitability refers to the absolute financial gains of a firm, profit efficiency is a measure of how effectively a firm converts its resources into maximum potential profit, given its operating environment and input prices. These distinct economic concepts raise key questions about airline strategies: Can airlines maximize their profits? Which business models achieve higher profit efficiency? What factors influence their profit efficiency? This study addresses these questions using a stochastic profit efficiency model based on data from U.S. airlines spanning from 2009 to 2019. Our findings reveal that the U.S. airline industry exhibits an average profit efficiency of 93.2 %. Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs) have a higher mean efficiency score of 98.7 % while Full-Service Airlines (FSAs) follow them with 95.3 %. Ultra-Low-Cost Carriers (ULCCs) have the lowest profit efficiency at 86.1 %. Finally, LCCs have demonstrated more stable profit efficiency over the years. In addition, ancillary revenues positively impact the profit efficiency, indicating higher markup resulting from add-on pricing. The strategies implemented after the Great Recession—such as capacity discipline and mergers—have significantly increased profit efficiency while the airport network expansion result in lower profit inefficiency. Overall, this study highlights the extent of profit efficiency for the U.S. airline industry and identifies the key factors influencing it.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"129 ","pages":"Article 102863"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144679478","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}
Manouk van der Zwan , Gülçin Ermiş, Alexei Sharpanskykh
{"title":"Multi-agent task allocation and path planning for autonomous ground support equipment","authors":"Manouk van der Zwan , Gülçin Ermiş, Alexei Sharpanskykh","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102855","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102855","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We aim to contribute to the automation of ground handling tasks using autonomous ground support equipment (GSE) at airports. Automation of airside operations has recently become critical for the airports to achieve higher levels of safety and efficiency under growing traffic demand and requires solving a complex scheduling and path planning problem. To address this problem, we present a multi-agent task allocation and path planning model for handling airside operations on the apron. In the problem, the ground handling tasks are to be allocated to the equipment, the trips of vehicles should be scheduled within specific time windows considering the flight schedules, and the collisions of vehicles on the apron and service roads should be avoided. We present a centralized multi-agent task allocation and routing model which aims to optimize the allocation and routing of various types of ground handling tasks over a heterogeneous set of GSE vehicles. We convert the allocation and routing problem into vehicle routing problem with time windows, pick-ups, deliveries and solve the problem using a warm start mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model. We also introduce a nonlinear objective function which converts the MILP model into a mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model, to minimize the time service locations at the stands are occupied. Then, we solve the corresponding path finding problem to find collision free paths for the GSE, by the multi-agent path finding model. The proposed model outperforms the decentralized approach in previous research regarding the allocation rate of assigning tasks to vehicles and the performance indicators of finding conflict free paths, and in CPU time. The mean deviations from shortest paths were considerably small in path planning which means that the solution quality was high. Furthermore, the CPU time of allocating tasks has been reduced by 48% compared to the CPU time of decentralized allocation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"129 ","pages":"Article 102855"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144655329","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}
{"title":"Passenger perceptions of Artificial Intelligence in airline operations: Implications for air transport management","authors":"Joan-Francesc Fondevila-Gascón , Óscar Gutiérrez-Aragón , David Lopez-Lopez , Gonzalo Curiel-Barrios , Júlia Alabart-Algueró","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102874","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102874","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the aviation industry, driving efficiency, automation, and innovation across multiple operational domains. This study examines commercial airline passengers’ perceptions of AI’s role in addressing key industry challenges, including air traffic management, predictive maintenance, passenger experience, and sustainability. Using a quantitative approach, a survey was conducted among 320 airline passengers in Spain to assess their attitudes toward AI-driven applications in aviation. The findings reveal strong support for AI in optimizing flight operations, reducing delays, and enhancing security procedures. However, significant skepticism remains regarding AI’s autonomy in decision-making, particularly in pilot replacement and automated flight rerouting. Statistical analyses indicate that younger and frequent travelers exhibit higher confidence in AI’s potential, whereas older passengers demonstrate greater reluctance toward AI-driven automation. Additionally, AI is perceived as a crucial enabler of environmental sustainability, with respondents acknowledging its role in reducing fuel consumption and emissions. These insights provide valuable implications for policymakers, airlines, and technology developers seeking to align AI adoption with passenger expectations while ensuring safety, efficiency, and regulatory compliance. The study highlights the need for a balanced approach that integrates AI’s technological advancements with human oversight to foster trust and acceptance in the future of AI-powered aviation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"129 ","pages":"Article 102874"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144750530","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}
Jianhua Pi , Xingjian Liu , Will W. Qiang , Chris Webster
{"title":"The impacts of airport economic zones on local urban development in China","authors":"Jianhua Pi , Xingjian Liu , Will W. Qiang , Chris Webster","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102875","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102875","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>China's implementation of Airport Economic Zones (AEZs) seeks to capitalize on aviation infrastructure for local development. While existing studies have assessed airport-related urban development in China, the specific impacts of AEZ policies on local economies remain underexamined. To this end, our study evaluates the impacts of AEZs on local economies, utilizing a panel dataset of 62 prefecture-level cities in China spanning 2000–2019. We employ a heterogeneous timing difference-in-differences method to assess localized economic impacts of AEZs, considering three specific treatment timings. The results show that AEZs have positive but limited impacts on localized economic growth, particularly evident in increased economic activities around airports. Local economic impacts of more recently announced national airport economic demonstration zones are insignificant in the analysis. Meanwhile, the establishment of other kinds of development zones around airports fosters nearby economic activity and employment in airport-related sectors, oftentimes with higher levels of statistical significance. These findings add empirical evidence for airport region development's impact on economy and underscore the importance of institutional support for maximizing AEZs' contributions to urban development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"129 ","pages":"Article 102875"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144771884","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}
{"title":"Time series prediction of airport operational resilience under severe weather conditions","authors":"Yuhui Zhang , Lili Liu , Xiong Peng","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102862","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102862","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Airport operational resilience is a crucial metric reflecting an airport’s capacity to adapt to external shocks, essential for maintaining safety and operational efficiency. While there has been research on airport resilience under various severe weather conditions, the specific contributing factors and their impacts remain inadequately explored. This study develops a comprehensive index system that integrates airport performance and meteorological data, using a random forest algorithm to quantify the influence of various factors on airport resilience across five types of severe weather. Furthermore, a PatchTST(Patch time series Transformer)-based time series model improved by the Cauchy loss function is proposed to accurately predict airport operational resilience. Focusing on severe weather events during the period from January 2023 to July 2024 at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in the United States. To mitigate multicollinearity, variables with high Pearson correlation and variance inflation factor (VIF) values were removed prior to analysis. Feature importance results reveal that hourly flight movements (HFM) consistently hold the highest importance across weather types, while temperature (TEMP), relative humidity (RHUM) and air pressure (PRES) exhibit relatively higher meteorological influence despite limited overall impact. The optimal Cauchy-PatchTST model, with a look-back window of <span><math><mrow><mi>L</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>36</mn></mrow></math></span> and a forecast length of <span><math><mrow><mi>T</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></math></span>, outperforms the traditional PatchTST model with MSE loss, three Transformer-based models and other optimized machine learning algorithms, achieving a 15.49% to 94.10% reduction in MAE on the test set. This study provides critical indicator analysis for airports across various severe weather conditions and offers reliable resilience data to support future operations management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"129 ","pages":"Article 102862"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144739346","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}