Airlines have endured a prolonged period of intense competition with the advent of deregulation in 1978. Market innovations and price-cutting dramatically expanded the number of travelers utilizing the national air transportation network. Bankruptcies and mergers reduced the number of contestants in the industry and eventually produced four national carriers controlling 80-85 percent of the passengers and routes. This new market power of the dominant airlines is resulting in industry changes designed to reduce operational uncertainty but is also having detrimental effects on many airports, particularly the smallest airports. This study employs qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the viability of the nation’s smallest primary commercial service airports. Three journal articles are fused in examining different aspects of the viability question. In Article 1, a longitudinal comparative analysis presents historic growth patterns for various sized airports during deregulation and reveals a distinctly lower growth rate for nonhub airports than their larger rivals. Even with a burgeoning market for travelers, growth for nonhub airports was anemic and the industry experienced massive passenger migration to the 60 largest airports. Article 2 addresses the topic of consumer switching, expands on extant literature with qualitative analyses, and proposes a theoretic, conceptual framework of four primary types of traveler purchasers. Each traveler type has its own distinct switching rationale and creates leakage patterns contoured to the features of their preferred airport. Building on the migration and switching findings of the first two articles, Article 3 explores converging market conditions and factors that are threatening future airline service for dozens of the smallest airports. By extracting findings from contemporary research, a comparative analysis of airports identifies 33 airports that face the highest risk of losing air service. The explanatory model places the airports in rank order by weighting various threat criteria. Qualitative interviews of air service professionals offer insider observations generally not known to the public, confirm observations found in existing research and verify that market forces are acting to reduce the number of airports in the network. The key contribution of the three articles of the thesis is its description of how key actors (firms, customers, agencies) interact and respond to policy decisions that have unintended consequences to small airports and their regional economies. There are predictable patterns in the relational linkages of these actors that contribute to our understanding of how a particular industry evolves under various pressures and how it interacts with factors outside the industry. The preponderance of the evidence from this study reveals that current market trends are generally caustic to the continued operation of small airports. Industry experts are reticent in acknowledging that the next phase of deregulation is underway with the consolidation of the nation’s nonhub airports.

This work explores the relationship from 1925 to 1939 between the business and government leaders of Indianapolis and the development of a municipal airport for the city. Beginning in 1925, local leaders worked to provide the city with a public airport. The initiation of three distinct and consecutive airport projects during this period closely tied development of a public airport with the commercial future of Indianapolis. The Chamber of Commerce led the first project, which established a public airport shared with the Indiana National Guard. Soon after this airport opened, the City of Indianapolis, with the cooperation of the Chamber of Commerce, undertook the development of a larger municipal airport in Indianapolis that opened in 1931. Finally, in 1938 the city government cooperated with the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) to build a national aviation experimental station at the Indianapolis Municipal Airport.

A very economical way of reducing the operational energy consumed by large commercial buildings such as an airport terminal is the automatic control of its active energy systems. Such control can adjust the indoor environment systems setpoints to satisfy comfort during occupancy or when unoccupied, initiate energy conservation setpoints and if necessary, shut down part of the building systems. Adjusting energy control setpoints manually in large commercial buildings can be a nightmare for facility managers. Incidentally for such buildings, occupancy based control strategies are not achieved through the use of conventional controllers alone. This research, therefore, investigated the potential of using a high-level control system in airport terminal building. The study presents the evolution of a novel fuzzy rule-based supervisory controller, which intelligently establishes comfort setpoints based on flow of passenger through the airport as well as variable external environmental conditions. The inputs to the supervisory controller include: the time schedule of the arriving and departing passenger planes; the expected number of passengers; zone daylight illuminance levels; and external temperature. The outputs from the supervisory controller are the low-level controllers internal setpoint profile for thermal comfort, visual comfort and indoor air quality. Specifically, this thesis makes contribution to knowledge in the following ways: It utilised artificial intelligence to develop a novel fuzzy rule-based, energy-saving supervisory controller that is able to establish acceptable indoor environmental quality for airport terminals based on occupancy schedules and ambient conditions. It presents a unique methodology of designing a supervisory controller using expert knowledge of an airport s indoor environment systems through MATLAB/Simulink platform with the controller s performance evaluated in both MATLAB and EnergyPlus simulation engine. Using energy conservation strategies (setbacks and switch-offs), the pro-posed supervisory control system was shown to be capable of reducing the energy consumed in the Manchester Airport terminal building by up to 40-50% in winter and by 21-27% in summer. It demonstrates that if a 45 minutes passenger processing time is aimed for instead of the 60 minutes standard time suggested by ICAO, energy consumption is significantly reduced (with less carbon emission) in winter particularly. The potential of the fuzzy rule-based supervisory controller to optimise comfort with minimal energy based on variation in occupancy and external conditions was demonstrated through this research. The systematic approach adopted, including the use of artificial intelligence to design supervisory controllers, can be extended to other large buildings which have variable but predictable occupancy patterns.

published_or_final_version / Transport Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / Transport Studies / Master / Master of Arts

Two complex resource allocation problems motivate the algorithms and applications discussed in this dissertation. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), a cooperative of television stations with independent budgets, must decide which programs to purchase from various producers and at what cost to its member stations. The airports of America must decide how to allocate limited takeoff and landing slots to competing airlines. Both problems are recognized as zero/one decision problems with multiple resource constraints. A computer aided allocation mechanism is proposed as an alternative to the currently practiced decision procedures. Bid information, solicited in an auction phase, provides values to parameterize a mathematical model. An optimization phase is then used to generate the best solution for the given information. The integer programming algorithms required to solve the particular models suggested are explored in detail. A best bound enumeration strategy which uses a surrogate knapsack relaxation is developd. Computer storage requirements are curtailed by using a new greedy heuristic for general integer programming problems. The PBS model has a structure closely related to certain fixed charge problems. This allows the use of necessary conditions for the existence of a solution of capacitated transportation problems to test the feasibility of candidate solution vectors. In the SLOT model feasibility testing is a trivial matter of maintaining running row sums. The bound provided by the knapsack relaxation is further enhanced with the addition of a set of generalized choice constraints. An efficient polynomial algorithm and proof of optimality are given for the linear relaxation of this problem. A procedure for generating a set of generalized choice constraints from any set of logical constraints is also given. The viability of the approach developed and the effects of parameter variation are computationally tested in both PBS and SLOT contexts. Some further computational results for project selection, set covering, and multiple knapsack problems are reported. A broad class of mixed integer linear programming problems is defined (e.g., capital expenditure and network design problems) and a suitable relaxation for a similar approach is developed. Finally, several new directions for research in algorithmic development and application are proposed.

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Science (Development Planning) to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / O.R Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) holds strong prominence as Africa’s biggest airport. Additionally, the anticipated growth of aviation within Africa will further enhance its relevance. Airports in their own right are becoming city cores of which its surrounding environments (aerotropolis) attract special industries which result to a transformation of the urban fabric. Ekurhuleni has followed global trends by asserting its decision to transform ORTIA into an Aerotropolis. The legitimacy of the aerotropolis model however is being questioned for the effects on the natural environment, displacement effects and its heavy dependence on government incentives required that tend to have a bias focus on foreign investment. Ekurhuleni is confronted by unique contextual factors of inequality and spatial racial-segregation that are the result of the historical South African apartheid system. Additionally, Ekurhuleni comes from a unique premise that it is a relatively newly established city that has been formed by amalgamating nine previous towns. Irrespective of this incomparable situation of being a non-traditional metropolis, Ekurhuleni not having a traditional metropolis, notably relying on the adjacent City of Johannesburg for its identity, it has sought punch above its weight and thrive to become an airport city. This research explores the spatial impacts of O.R Tambo International Airport on Ekurhuleni Area through qualitative research methods and a review of key theories that are born from neo-liberal policies and airport orientated developments. It explores current developments with O.R Tambo International Airport and Ekurhuleni focusing on physical, economic and social spaces that are owed to the existence of the airport. O.R Tambo International Airport has had significant spatial impact on Ekurhuleni area. The spatial impacts undeniably led to positives through the conception of competitive, economically thriving and innovative environments which align to global, competitive cities. As part of the Gauteng City Region (GCR), Ekurhuleni is placing strong leverage on the existence of the airport to shape the city spatially. There is a strong focus on increasing scale and density within the immediate surrounds of the airport through development infill and replacement of single dwellings with apartments and hotels. The corridors and spines developed place focus on links to the airport as the key central point in which its development stems. The environment reveals industrial clusters which gain economically through the agglomeration effects. It is also stimulating focus on the presence of social facilities such as tourism, retail and hotels which would serve the airport. The traditionally manufacturing based economy of Ekurhuleni is integrating with knowledge economy industries which are aligned to global cities. The city is focusing on compaction with new development being mixed- use spaces connected by a multi modal transport network. These Integrated Transport Networks are concretised by recent investments into the Gautrain and the Bus Rapid Transitsystem (BRT). The previous far reaching edge cities that were the black traditional townships are being connected to the metro core through increasing available modes of public transport. There still remains the threat that airports become contributory factor to the creation of exclusionary spaces faced with environmental threats. It is noted that in an unequal society such as South Africa, areas surrounding airports may exacerbate the challenges of crime and further displacement of residents. The spatial formation process within Ekurhuleni involved multi-disciplinary actors from various industries and decision making cuts across the various spheres of government. Non-robust community engagements coupled by their lack of knowledge on the aerotropolis initiative has reflected that there needs to be a focus on the empowerment of citizens. Branding has been recognized as critical for city competitiveness. The resultant effects of Ekurhuleni being formed from a combination of towns has left it with meek and ambiguous identity. The formulation of robust branding policies and building on the strength of ORTIA brand has the potential to give Ekurhuleni’s vague character significant leverage. Overall, ORTIA’s spatial contribution has both a positive and negative spatial impacts on Ekurhuleni. ORTIA gives competitive advantage to the Gauteng City Region (GCR) and it acts as an urban development stimuli to Ekurhuleni as the GCR gateway airport. Planning can however be instrumental in remedial actions on addressing the negative corollaries caused by airports to their surrounds. Hence it is recommended that a communicative and collaborative planner; who encourages equitable capacity development practices, would be effective in managing the spatial formation process within Ekurhuleni. / MT2018

<div> <p>The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) <i>Report on the Sustainable Master Plan Pilot Program and Lessons Learned </i>published in December 2012 showed that airports of all sizes can benefit from incorporating sustainability in their master plans. Global aviation organizations such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and Airports Council International (ACI) have been in the forefront in championing aviation sustainability. While incorporating sustainability in airport planning is highly encouraged, there are challenges associated with such a process. Some of the challenges experienced by airport managers in planning and implementation sustainability are lack of financial capability, and lack of skilled sustainability specialists. In 2009, FAA launched the Airport Sustainability - Airport Improvement Program (AIP), to provide grants to airports that were willing to invest the time and resources in preparing airport master plans that incorporate sustainability issues. To date, 44 airports have been funded through the FAA Airport Sustainability AIP grant. Six of the 44 airports are in the category of small hub airports as classified by the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS). The objective of this study is to gain an in-depth understanding of the approaches to sustainability planning used by the six small hub airports in the FAA program. The researcher chose a case study design to conduct an exploratory case study with multiple cases. The results of the study show that the approaches used by the six airports vary depending on the specific airport needs and resources available. Based on the study results, the researcher concludes there are more similarities than differences in the approaches airports have used to incorporate sustainability in the master planning process.</p> </div> <br>

The imagery of flight remains one of the most captivating views in history. The bird’s eye view it gives to man has helped him to gain an understanding of a particular area, in addition to broadening his knowledge base. Air travel has time in sense (because of its convenience), and shaped cities, with the airport control tower becoming a dominant icon within the landscape. Its form of communication and navigation is different: having its own language, symbols that have to be comprehended before the journey of flight can begin. The map is one such device that serves as a medium between the technical and the lay – enabling a simpler understanding of a complex subject. It is dexterous in its ability to show detail, aiding the design process by highlighting key elements, summarising others, and giving clues as to the proposed site and programme. The focus of this study is to design a hub for business, as well as a facilitator for improving the knowledge of the visitor through information and networks. Specific functional elements were chosen in an attempt to supplement the existing Lanseria airport, in addition to creating an identity for a gateway into area and its surrounds. In accordance with the co-operative nature of the industry, the proposal can become a marketable feature for the developing, expanding airport. This document examines the context of aviation and theatrical explorations into its methods of communications (Chapters 1 – 2); the search for an appropriate site (Chapter 3) and the formation of programme and precedent studies (Chapter 4); leading up to the final design of the Centre and its technological aspects (Chapter 5).

Contexto - O estudo de alternativas de localização é uma etapa importante do processo de avaliação de impacto ambiental, tratado por muitos como o \"coração\" do processo e através do qual o empreendedor busca responder aos interessados sobre a viabilidade ambiental de seu empreendimento. Porém, apesar da conhecida importância, existem deficiências nos estudos ambientais com relação à consideração e à discussão de alternativas locacionais de atividades, principalmente em relação àquelas potencialmente causadoras de significativos impactos ambientais, como são os aeroportos. Responsáveis por relevantes impactos ambientais nos centros urbanos, os aeroportos geralmente estão envolvidos em conflitos referentes ao uso e ocupação do solo, representando um dos maiores agentes de degradação ambiental e social, necessitando, portanto, de um eficiente estudo locacional que contemple parâmetros sociais, ambientais, além dos técnicos e econômicos. Objetivo - Assim, o objetivo do presente trabalho é avaliar como as alternativas de localização de atividades, com foco em aeroportos, são contempladas nos estudos de impacto ambiental. Metodologia Para se atingir esse objetivo, aplicou-se uma metodologia de base qualitativa, descritiva e exploratória, que apresenta como etapas: revisão bibliográfica, levantamento de critérios utilizados para definição da localização de aeroportos em âmbito nacional e internacional, organização e avaliação dos critérios levantados e, por fim, aplicação desses critérios no caso do aeroporto de Ribeirão Preto, SP. Resultados - Ficou em destaque a necessidade da prévia análise do território, baseada nos possíveis impactos da atividade e nas aptidões e restrições do meio, a fim de se analisar a viabilidade ambiental do empreendimento, evitando-se, desse modo, futuros conflitos de ordem social e ambiental. Especificamente para o caso estudado, os resultados mostram que houve falhas na metodologia de análise das alternativas locacionais utilizadas no EIA, sobretudo em relação à escolha dos critérios e omissão de informações relevantes para a tomada de decisão. Também, o presente trabalho conclui pela existência de sítios aptos e indicados para a localização de aeroportos em Ribeirão Preto, SP e a inviabilidade do sitio apontado pelo EIA como a melhor opção. / Context - The study of alternative localizations is an important step in the process of environmental impact assessment, treated by many as the \"heart\" of the process and through which the entrepreneur seeks to answer to stakeholders the environmental viability of their enterprise. However, although this known importance, there are shortcomings in environmental studies in relation to consideration and discussion of alternative locational activities, establishing a contradiction and a gap in which the present study staff. Objective - The objective of this study is to evaluate how the alternative locations of activities are contemplated in environmental impact statement. Methodology - To achieve this goal was applied a methodology based on qualitative, descriptive and exploratory character, which presents the following steps: a literature review, survey of criteria used to define the location of airports nationally and internationally, organization and evaluation the data collected and, finally, application of these criteria in the case of airport Ribeirão Preto, SP. Results - It was highlighted the need for preliminary analysis of the territory, based on the potential impacts of activities and capabilities and constraints of the environment, in order to analyze the environmental feasibility of the project, avoiding thus future conflicts social and environmental . Specifically for the case study, the results show that there were flaws in the methodology used locational analysis of alternatives in EIA, especially in relation to the choice of criteria and omission of relevant information for decision making. Also, this study indicates the existence of other suitable sites and more pointed than that indicated by EIA as the best option.