Existing literature on the airline industry has been largely based on US airline markets due to data availability. The rest of the world, including China?s airline markets, have received relatively little attention. This thesis discusses in some detail the evolution of China's airline industry, current position and the problems faced by the Chinese carriers. In particular, it explores in depth the reasons behind the 2002 airline consolidations, which have brought about many significant changes in China's airline markets. Unlike mergers in developed countries, which might have been assessed and their effects estimated by antitrust authorities before being granted antitrust immunity, the airline mergers that swept China's airline industry in 2002 occurred with no antitrust challenge. This provides researchers with a good opportunity to study market power issues in this market. Using monthly average airfare information for China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines from 2002 to 2004, the actual airfares paid by passengers were found to have significantly fallen in the post-merger period in most Chinese city-pair markets, indicating that competition was still relatively strong and that the major airlines did not seriously abuse any market power gained from the mergers. Based on a reduced form airfare equation in a panel context, the presence of Hainan Airlines appears to have had the competitive effect of suppressing the airfares charged by China Eastern and China Southern. One salient feature of China?s airline industry in the post-merger period is the greatly enhanced multimarket contact of these two major airlines. However, my finding of a negative effect of multimarket contact on airfares in China's airline markets rejects the mutual forbearance hypothesis. In the absence of an effective antitrust law, both fare wars and price collusion have been pervasive in China?s airline markets, causing concern for both airlines and consumers. Both types of conduct tend to be short-lived, but the 'competition then collusion' patterns seem to be repetitive. This observation can be explained in two ways. On the one hand, divergent interests in a particular market at any given time have made it difficult for collusive agreements to be effectively implemented and maintained. On the other hand, the lack of any antitrust intervention has allowed the carriers in China to reach price agreements through overt communication any time they thought it might be commercially helpful. Therefore, both the industrial collusion and price war cycles have not lasted for long periods of time. Using a probit model that estimates the engagement of China Eastern and China Southern in price wars and price collusion, it is found that concentration in both airports and routes did not play any important part in the occurrence of either fare wars or collusion. Multimarket contact had the effect of intensifying and spreading competition in some markets, with no obvious effects of promoting price cooperation. Although the airline mergers overall appear not to have caused seriously anticompetitive consequences, undoubtedly because most carriers were keen to expand in China's fast-growing airline markets, the underlying potential for collusive conduct still demands that a comprehensive antitrust law be adopted to control price-fixing activities, and to stop threats to competition once the airline industry reaches maturity.

In airline scheduling a variety of planning and operational decision problems have to be solved. In this thesis we consider the problems aircraft routing and crew pairing: aircraft and crew must be allocated to flights of a schedule in a minimal cost way. Although these problems are not independent, they are usually formulated as independent mathematical optimisation models and solved sequentially. This approach might lead to a suboptimal allocation of aircraft and crew, since a solution of one of the problems may restrict the set of feasible solutions of the problem solved subsequently. Also, in minimal cost solutions, aircraft and crew are highly utilised and short turn around times are usually used for aircraft and crew. If such a solution is used in operations, a short delay of one flight can cause very severe disruptions of the schedule later in the day due to the lack of buffer times. We formulate an integrated aircraft routing and crew pairing model that can generate solutions that incur small costs and are also robust to typical stochastic variability in airline operations. We propose two new solution methods to solve the integrated model. The first approach is an optimisation based heuristic approach that is capable of generating good quality solutions quickly, the second approach can solve the integrated model to optimality. In an extension of the integrated model we allow the departure times of some flights in the schedule to vary in some time window. This creates additional flexibility that leads to aircraft routing and crew pairing solutions with improved cost and robustness compared to the integrated model without time windows. Using data from domestic Air New Zealand schedules, we evaluate the benefits of the approaches on real world problem instances. Our solutions satisfy all rules imposed for these problems and are ready to be implemented in practice. We generate solutions that dramatically improve the cost and robustness of solutions obtained by existing methods.

In airline scheduling a variety of planning and operational decision problems have to be solved. In this thesis we consider the problems aircraft routing and crew pairing: aircraft and crew must be allocated to flights of a schedule in a minimal cost way. Although these problems are not independent, they are usually formulated as independent mathematical optimisation models and solved sequentially. This approach might lead to a suboptimal allocation of aircraft and crew, since a solution of one of the problems may restrict the set of feasible solutions of the problem solved subsequently. Also, in minimal cost solutions, aircraft and crew are highly utilised and short turn around times are usually used for aircraft and crew. If such a solution is used in operations, a short delay of one flight can cause very severe disruptions of the schedule later in the day due to the lack of buffer times. We formulate an integrated aircraft routing and crew pairing model that can generate solutions that incur small costs and are also robust to typical stochastic variability in airline operations. We propose two new solution methods to solve the integrated model. The first approach is an optimisation based heuristic approach that is capable of generating good quality solutions quickly, the second approach can solve the integrated model to optimality. In an extension of the integrated model we allow the departure times of some flights in the schedule to vary in some time window. This creates additional flexibility that leads to aircraft routing and crew pairing solutions with improved cost and robustness compared to the integrated model without time windows. Using data from domestic Air New Zealand schedules, we evaluate the benefits of the approaches on real world problem instances. Our solutions satisfy all rules imposed for these problems and are ready to be implemented in practice. We generate solutions that dramatically improve the cost and robustness of solutions obtained by existing methods.

In airline scheduling a variety of planning and operational decision problems have to be solved. In this thesis we consider the problems aircraft routing and crew pairing: aircraft and crew must be allocated to flights of a schedule in a minimal cost way. Although these problems are not independent, they are usually formulated as independent mathematical optimisation models and solved sequentially. This approach might lead to a suboptimal allocation of aircraft and crew, since a solution of one of the problems may restrict the set of feasible solutions of the problem solved subsequently. Also, in minimal cost solutions, aircraft and crew are highly utilised and short turn around times are usually used for aircraft and crew. If such a solution is used in operations, a short delay of one flight can cause very severe disruptions of the schedule later in the day due to the lack of buffer times. We formulate an integrated aircraft routing and crew pairing model that can generate solutions that incur small costs and are also robust to typical stochastic variability in airline operations. We propose two new solution methods to solve the integrated model. The first approach is an optimisation based heuristic approach that is capable of generating good quality solutions quickly, the second approach can solve the integrated model to optimality. In an extension of the integrated model we allow the departure times of some flights in the schedule to vary in some time window. This creates additional flexibility that leads to aircraft routing and crew pairing solutions with improved cost and robustness compared to the integrated model without time windows. Using data from domestic Air New Zealand schedules, we evaluate the benefits of the approaches on real world problem instances. Our solutions satisfy all rules imposed for these problems and are ready to be implemented in practice. We generate solutions that dramatically improve the cost and robustness of solutions obtained by existing methods.

Thesis (D. Min.)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 1994. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 210-213).

This thesis examines the impact of oil price fluctuations and jet fuel hedging on firm value before, during and after the subprime crisis. Four regressions are estimated with two different variables representing firm value; market return and market valuation. The result of this study shows that the airlines’ oil price exposure has substantially decreased over time and that jet fuel hedging does not add value for investors.

For decades, the speed of commercial aviation was constrained by the sound barrier. However, recent noticeable growth in air traffic and the recognition of the “time” as a valuable asset for passengers, call for more efficient, faster commercial transport. The commercial supersonic flight, able to fly above the speed of the sound has not been around ever since Concorde made its last trip in 2003, but it is promised to be on its way back. Currently, several existing and emerging companies are competing to revive the concept by developing and launching efficient supersonic plane between 2020-2025. The aircraft could operate on long-haul intercontinental flights about 2.6 times faster than current subsonic airplanes, targeting primarily business travelers. However, such a technological leapfrogging innovation embodies several engineering, economic, environmental and other factors, vital for its commercial success.                                The overall purpose of this master thesis is to investigate which factors could ensure the success of the upcoming supersonic commercial flight. The research will examine whether the new generation of supersonic planes can achieve maintainable commercial success by introducing industry expert opinions and exploring the perceptions of potential passengers towards supersonic flight as a possible future transportation mode.                               The limited literature on the subject created the need for descriptive research to expand the understanding. The chosen deductive approach relies on adopting the theoretical conceptions on the Theory of Disruptive Innovation and the Extended GAP Model of Service Quality. Pragmatic research philosophy is used due to the fact that it was deemed necessary to pursue multiple views to enable best answering the research questions. Qualitative interviews with ten industry experts have been conducted, capturing both the market specifications and the technical functions of the planes. Furthermore, 28 potential consumers who have flown in a business class on a long-haul flight gave valuable insights on the service quality perceptions.                                The results show that demand for supersonic flight exists and people are willing to use it as long as the plane satisfies their expectations of service quality. Based on the predictions of industry experts and the high level of curiosity of the potential customers interviewed, and their positive perceptions towards using it, the commercial  supersonic flight has the scale possibility to be highly successful. However, the upcoming supersonic aircraft should find a balance between the main service quality attributes, such as speed, comfort, convenience, and safety, in relation to the economic, environmental, and engineering challenges.

Title: Awareness of the Czech population about sporting events involving Emirates Airline Aims: The primary aim of this thesis is to find out the awareness of the Czech population about sporting events involving Emirates Airline. The secondary aim is to then evaluate the gathered information. Methods: The research question is answered through an experiment that entails distributing an online questionnaire to respondents as a form of quantitative method used in this dissertation. The compiled questionnaire was sent out to various groups of responders using the social network and email communication. The research lasted for three weeks in which the results were then processed by the computer technology in the MS Excel program. Results: The responses received by the Czech population show an awareness of sport events involving Emirates Airlines in Football, Tennis and Formula 1 racing. The results gathered show there is a greater interest in the Czech population to visit Formula 1 racing. On this basis, the Czech population would like Emirates Airlines to also sponsor winter sports, especially Ice Hockey and Running Races. The Czech Republic population would recommend Emirates Airline to sponsor Czech Ice Hockey or Football Team or Tennis. Respondents also recommended to sponsor some successful Czech...

Most industries are confronted with increasingly volatile environments that consist of rapid change and unpredictable dynamics. These factors require a particular leadership style that is capable of dealing with complexity. The suggested alternative leadership paradigm is based on the ideas of quantum mechanics, complexity theory and relativity theory; thus referred to as Einsteinian-Quantum leadership paradigm. To establish whether such leadership paradigm is emerging in volatile environments, semi-structured interviews and multiple surveys were distributed to managers and leaders in the international airline industry. Based on the results, a Quantum Leadership Matrix (QLM) was established to test for the level of quantum leadership behaviour in the selected industry and assist in identifying gaps between Newtonian-Cartesian and Einsteinian-Quantum characteristics in order to develop sustainable leadership models. The QLM and surveys indicated that managers and leaders still resist in a transition phase where both Newtonian-Cartesian and Einsteinian-Quantum leadership characteristics can be observed simultaneously. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

abstract: The Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) program was mandated legislatively, as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. This study replicated earlier research that investigated pilots’ opinions of the current state of the FFDO program based on interviews. A Likert survey was created to allow simpler quantitative collection and analysis of opinions from large groups of pilots. A total of 43 airline pilots participated in this study. Responses to the Likert questions were compared with demographics, searching for significance through a Pearson chi-square test and frequencies were compared to earlier research findings. Significant chi-square results showed that those familiar with the program were more likely to agree the program should continue, it was effective, the screening and selection process of program applicants was adequate and the Federal Air Marshal Service’s management of the FFDO program was effective. Those with Military experience were more likely to disagree it was reasonable that FFDOs were required to pay for their own room and board during training or train on their own time. All those who shared an opinion agreed there should be a suggestion medium between FFDOs and their management. Unlike the prior study, all those familiar with the program agreed the weapons transportation and carriage procedures were adequate. Furthermore, all those who shared an opinion found the holster locking mechanism adequate, which was another reversal of opinion from the prior study. Similar to the prior study, pilots unanimously agree FFDOs were well trained and agreed that the program was effective and should continue. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Aerospace Engineering 2017