{"title":"Flying safe: The impact of corporate governance on aviation safety","authors":"Hamed Khadivar , Pedram Fardnia , Thomas Walker","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102743","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102743","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the impact of various measures of corporate governance on airline safety, addressing a significant gap in the literature that explores safety performance within the aviation industry. Using data from seventy countries spanning the period from 1990 to 2016, we investigate the relationship between corporate governance quality indicators and airline accident rates while controlling for airlines’ financial health. Our findings suggest that airlines with less qualified and busier directors, as well as those experiencing higher degrees of director succession, are more prone to accidents. Conversely, longer CEO tenure is associated with a lower accident rate. Furthermore, our findings highlight the importance of a well-developed regulatory environment and transportation infrastructure: airlines based in countries with more stringent legal regulations, robust law enforcement, and superior air transport infrastructure exhibit better safety performance. Our research underscores the critical role of corporate governance in ensuring airline safety and emphasizes the significance of regulatory frameworks and infrastructure investments in shaping safety outcomes in the aviation industry. These results carry significant policy implications for aviation safety regulators responsible for developing, overseeing, and implementing policies aimed at improving aviation safety.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 102743"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143169439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sebastian Wandelt , Andrea Signori , Shuming Chang , Shuang Wang , Zhuoming Du , Xiaoqian Sun
{"title":"Unleashing the potential of operations research in air transport: A review of applications, methods, and challenges","authors":"Sebastian Wandelt , Andrea Signori , Shuming Chang , Shuang Wang , Zhuoming Du , Xiaoqian Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102747","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102747","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Operations research (OR) has been applied in air transportation since the post-war period, starting from relatively simple static models and classical linear optimization techniques. Recent advancements in operations research, computational intelligence, and data management have significantly transformed the landscape of OR applications, addressing the growing complexity and demands of the modern aviation industry. This study explores the latest developments of OR applications within air transportation, focusing on key areas such as airline management, airport management, and air traffic management. We delve into the integration of big data, artificial intelligence and sustainability aspects, which has enabled unprecedented precision in, e.g., flight scheduling, air traffic control, and predictive maintenance. The adoption of modern heuristics based on machine learning algorithms and advanced solution techniques has facilitated to solve an increasingly larger and more complex set of mathematical models for improved resource allocation. This paper also highlights the shift towards holistic and integrated OR models that encompass the entire air transportation ecosystem, from airline operations to airport management. By analyzing these recent developments, we underscore the critical role of OR in driving efficiency, safety, and sustainability in air transportation, offering insights into future trends and potential research directions in this rapidly evolving field.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 102747"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143169436","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}
Dragan Pamucar , Mehmet Özçalıcı , Hasan Emin Gurler
{"title":"Evaluation of the efficiency of world airports using WENSLO-ARTASI and Monte-Carlo simulation","authors":"Dragan Pamucar , Mehmet Özçalıcı , Hasan Emin Gurler","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102749","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102749","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study addresses the challenge of evaluating and ranking airport efficiency by proposing a novel multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework. The framework integrates the WENSLO (Weights by ENvelope and SLOpe) method for robust weight determination and the ARTASI (Alternative Ranking Technique based on Adaptive Standardized Intervals) method for impartial alternative evaluation. This innovative approach, WENSLO-ARTASI, utilizes a distinctive algorithm for logical reasoning and facilitates effective decision-making in evaluating airport efficiency. The research employs real-world data from the Skytrax website, encompassing airport evaluations across four-star categories (2–5 stars). Nine primary criteria and 49 sub-criteria belonging to 413 airports that remained in the dataset after the cleaning process were identified. The WENSLO technique determined distinct weight sets for each star category, revealing varying priorities among different airport levels. Notably, ground transportation emerged as a critical factor for 2, 3, and 5-star airports, while shopping facilities held greater importance at four-star airports. The proposed WENSLO-ARTASI framework was rigorously evaluated for accuracy and stability through sensitivity and comparative analyses. Parameter fine-tuning within the utility function was performed to assess its impact, followed by comparing the model's results with established MCDM techniques like MABAC, MARCOS, TOPSIS, and WASPAS. The validity of the findings was further corroborated through a Monte Carlo simulation, statistically demonstrating the non-outlier nature of both WENSLO and ARTASI assessments. Additionally, the comparative superiority of alternatives was statistically examined, providing robust evidence for the effectiveness of the proposed framework in airport ranking.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 102749"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143169438","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}
Xiaoqian Sun , Changhong Zheng , Kun Wang , Sebastian Wandelt
{"title":"The art of airline cessation: A comprehensive analysis based on airline ceases reported between the years 2010 and 2023","authors":"Xiaoqian Sun , Changhong Zheng , Kun Wang , Sebastian Wandelt","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102748","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102748","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the multifaceted dynamics of airline cessation is essential for industry stakeholders and policymakers, particularly after the difficult period faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the peak of the pandemic, various outlets already called doomsday for aviation, anticipating a never-before-seen airline extinction, and asking for governmental subsidies as well as other supports. Given that the global air transportation system has largely recovered from the pandemic impact, it seems adequate to look back. This paper presents a longitudinal analysis of airline cessation between the years 2010 and 2023, aimed at delineating the evolving patterns and underlying determinants of airline cease events. Leveraging a comprehensive dataset encompassing more than 200 global airline closures, we discuss the potential drivers behind these cessation events. We find that nearly half of the airlines ceased due to unmanageable financial distress, followed by merger/restructuring efforts. In addition, we find that the COVID-19 pandemic has not induced extraordinary airline extinction, contrary to fears articulated during the peak of the pandemic. While our analysis is mainly qualitative, based on aggregated statistics and highlighted examples, we hope to inspire future work that explores deeper into this important subject through quantitative analysis, fostering a more comprehensive understanding of the aviation industry’s vulnerabilities and guiding the development of successful strategies for crisis prevention and management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 102748"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143168335","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":"Determinants of U.S. airport passenger traffic: The role of metropolitan economies in the post-pandemic era","authors":"Keith Debbage, Natsuko Baba","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102741","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102741","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Given the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on air passenger demand in the early 2020s, this paper attempts to establish if some of the traditional links that have existed between airport passenger traffic and metropolitan economies have been fundamentally altered during the post-pandemic era. Only those metropolitan areas that included airports that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officially defined as air traffic hubs in 2021 were included in this analysis. Data were collected from the FAA and the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The spatial distribution of air passengers by metropolitan area was intensely geographically concentrated where the ten largest passenger markets by metropolitan area in the United States accounted for nearly half of all passenger enplanements. A linear regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between air passenger demand and a group of predictor variables using SPSS. In the final regression model, 41.2% of the variation in air passenger demand by metropolitan area was accounted for by four predictor variables: the percent of the workforce employed in Information, Transportation and Warehousing, Professional-Scientific-Technical Services or PST, and Finance-Insurance-Real Estate or FIRE. These results appear to confirm some of the earlier research which articulated that a regional workforce with a strong tradable services sector can positively impact air transport provision. Even during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, those metropolitan areas with a disproportionate share of tradable services tended to generate more resilient air passenger markets, at least in terms of the way they “bounced back” from the negative impacts of the pandemic.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 102741"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143168405","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}
Pere Suau-Sanchez , Augusto Voltes-Dorta , Laura Lamolla
{"title":"Board and executive gender diversity as a driver of airline efficiency: A network-DEA analysis","authors":"Pere Suau-Sanchez , Augusto Voltes-Dorta , Laura Lamolla","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102745","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102745","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates the influence of gender diversity on the efficiency of airlines. Despite global progress towards gender equality, the airline industry continues to exhibit a considerable gender gap, especially in leadership positions. Our study utilises a Network Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to assess the performance of airlines concerning gender diversity in board and executive roles. By analysing a dataset of airlines of different continents and covering the period before and after the COVID-19 crisis, gender diversity's impact on airline efficiency (defined as the ratio of the sum of its weighted outputs to the sum of its weighted inputs) is examined. A second-stage estimation further enriches the analysis to assess the influence of external variables. Our findings reveal that airlines with higher gender diversity on their boards and executive teams exhibit better efficiency before and after COVID-19 crisis. The study contributes to the broader discourse on gender diversity in traditionally male-dominated sectors, offering insights into the strategic benefits of inclusive leadership practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 102745"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143169435","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Optimization and evolution of UAV insurance provision framework: Insights into multi-sector cooperation","authors":"Qian Ma","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102740","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102740","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rapid expansion of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) presents considerable challenges in risk management. Although insurance is essential for mitigating the risks associated with UAV operations, aviation insurers face major obstacles in providing effective coverage due to insufficient actuarial data, limited expertise, and regulatory uncertainties. This study aims to optimize the UAV insurance provision framework to help address the issue of inefficient coverage. Through a comparative analysis of traditional and cooperative UAV insurance provision frameworks, the study identifies multi-sector cooperation as the most effective approach. This framework involves close cooperation among aviation insurers, the government, and UAV manufacturers. To examine the stability of this framework, an evolutionary game theory model is developed, with aviation insurers and the government as the main players. Factors such as cooperative profits, cooperative costs, and the benefits of free-riding are identified as pivotal to the framework's stability. The system's sensitivity to variations in these factors is demonstrated through simulations. The study also outlines a potential evolutionary path for the UAV insurance provision framework, emphasizing a phased approach that adapts to the evolving UAV landscape. This research offers valuable insights into optimizing UAV insurance provision and provides practical guidance for aviation insurers, policymakers, and UAV manufacturers in fostering cooperative strategies that enhance the overall safety and sustainability of UAV operations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 102740"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143169434","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 role of airports in enhancing total factor productivity: Evidence from listed companies in China","authors":"Ge Song , Jing Tan , Zhenjiu Yao","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2024.102738","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2024.102738","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>China's civil aviation industry has undergone far-reaching and comprehensive reforms to modernize and build a thriving industry in the 21st century. Developing aviation helps stimulate regional economic growth and improves local business efficiency. This study examines the impacts of air transport development on total factor productivity of local companies and explores the mediating effects of enterprise innovation and investor attention. Firstly, this paper calculates air accessibility as a measure of air transport development and uses the Olley-Pakes (OP) method to calculate total factor productivity of companies. Secondly, this paper adopts the panel fixed effect model to examine the impacts of air transport on total factor productivity based on the data of listed companies in China from 2000 to 2019. Thirdly, this paper constructs a mediating model to explore the mechanisms by considering enterprise innovation and investor attention as mediator variables. In the end, this paper explores the possible adverse risks of local government debt and population loss associated with the high costs of airport infrastructure construction and operation.</div><div>This paper finds that: (1) Air transport development has greatly improved total factor productivity of companies and the impacts are differentiated by the heterogeneity of city sizes, ownership structures company types, industries, and distance to the nearest airport. (2) The positive influences of airport transport development for total factor productivity are mediated through the influence paths of enterprise innovation and investor attention. (3) Airport infrastructure investment are conductive to high local debt risks, but after the operation of new projects, the positive economic impacts start to mitigate the high local debt risks. (4) New airport infrastructure promotes population growth for both airport cities and cities without airports.</div><div>This study shows clear and consistent evidence that air transport contributes to total factor productivity. When selecting a location or developing business strategies, non-state-owned, labor-intensive, and technology-intensive companies should prioritize the advantages of air transportation to reduce transportation costs and enhance productivity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 102738"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143169433","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}
Muhammad Danish Danial Bin Mohamed Anuar , Nadine Itani , John F. O'Connell , David Warnock-Smith
{"title":"Investigating the impacts of ASEAN-EU comprehensive air transport agreement on the carriers’ competitive dynamics","authors":"Muhammad Danish Danial Bin Mohamed Anuar , Nadine Itani , John F. O'Connell , David Warnock-Smith","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102739","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102739","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) signed the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (CATA) between their member states in October 2022.</div><div>The ASEAN-EU CATA is the world's first bloc-to-bloc air transport agreement and reflects the latest policy thinking in air transport regulation. The agreement allows the carriers of the two blocs to operate passenger and cargo services between and beyond both regions, by exercising Fifth Freedom traffic rights and liberalising codeshare restrictions.</div><div>Since 2014 and despite both sides showing a commitment to elevating their aviation relations to a new level, the two regions remain different regarding the level of domestic air travel market integration and liberalisation. These intrinsic variations contribute to creating disadvantages in the competitive position of ASEAN-based carriers when compared to their EU counterparts.</div><div>This study aims to investigate the possible implications of the CATA on the competitive dynamics of airlines in both markets, by applying the Competitive Dynamics Model to analyse the interactions in the strategies and responses, and its implications on the performance of the relevant air carriers. Using secondary data, a series of quantitative indicators are utilised to examine selected ASEAN and EU carriers' awareness, motivation, and ability to respond to the novel changes in the industry's regulatory and competitive environment.</div><div>While the findings indicate the strategic responses of both ASEAN and EU carriers is more focussed on interline agreements and joint ventures, competitive rivalry is to remain intense for popular destinations such as those to and from Thailand and Singapore.</div><div>The study analyses the advantages in the scheduled frequencies and fares of the big three Middle Eastern carriers and Turkish Airlines, over home airlines in major ASEAN and EU hubs. The CATA-induced partially liberalised market will drive more partnerships among ASEAN and EU carriers to align schedules in their respective hubs as a response to competition posed by Middle Eastern carriers. The findings suggest that the possible actions and reactions of airlines to one another are precursors to driving changes in market structure over time within the new ASEAN-EU CATA framework.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 102739"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143168404","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":"MILP-based cost and time-competitive vehicle routing problem for last-mile delivery service using a swarm of UAVs and UGVs","authors":"Sunghun Jung","doi":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2024.102736","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jairtraman.2024.102736","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>There are numerous studies on the unmanned vehicle routing problem (VRP) considering battery constraints in the areas of 1) path-planning problem based on intelligent task allocation and 2) determination of routes according to defined objectives and constraints. However, in most previous literature, only a simple linear approximation of battery energy consumption is considered, producing unrealistic results. In this study, a cost and time-competitive VRP is established and solved using mixed-integer linear programming (MILP), considering the relationship between the cost and electricity consumption of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). In particular, the maximum flyable and drivable ranges of the UAV and UGV were calculated by setting a linear capacity degradation equation based on the state of health, considering a limited number of (dis)charge cycles. This approach guarantees more realistic optimization results due to the adaptation of the detailed characteristics of battery-related information. Numerical analyses using two solvers based on MILP, 1) COIN-OR Branch and Cut (CBC) and 2) Gurobi, were performed with four different scenarios and four corresponding cases for each scenario by varying the number of demanders. The results show that using a combination of UAVs and UGVs slightly reduces the cost by approximately 1% but significantly reduces the delivery completion time by approximately 79%. The simulation running time was approximately 1.1 s for all the cases, and the CBC solver operates faster than the Gurobi solver by approximately 0.93%.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14925,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Air Transport Management","volume":"124 ","pages":"Article 102736"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143168756","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}