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Thesis (PhDBusinessandManagement)--University of South Australia, 2001.

Thesis (LL. M.)--McGill University, Montreal, Canada, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-128).

The problem was to review and evaluate operations research techniques and models that had been applied in the airline industry and to discover problem areas where further research is needed. The method was to review management and operations research literature pertaining to airlines, and to formulate the thesis outline on the basis of literature consulted. More specialized literature was then sought under each of the main chapter headings: Marketing, Production, Airports, Finance. In Marketing, little was found that originated from airline companies, except in the area of forecasting. Advertising and pricing models studied were chiefly from manufacturing industries. Airline Production, the revenue-earning part of airline operation, has been extensively studied by operations researchers in the airline industry. Reservations systems, manpower planning, scheduling of aircraft and crews and passenger check-in and baggage handling were main topics of study. Airport models dealing with traffic congestion, Air Traffic Control, aircraft, maintenance, and inventory control have been successfully implemented. Financial models have been developed largely by airframe manufacturers as selling tools for new aircraft, and for market research by the plane builders. Cash flow models and models that aid financial control have been applied. General conclusions are that operations research has been investigated as a means to better airline management in most departments of airline operation. Much remains to be done to develop practical operations research competence in the following areas: 1. Advertising and Pricing. 2. Routing and Scheduling of aircraft and crews. 3. Financial Investment. The volume of the literature on operations research is growing rapidly. This thesis includes only a small sampling of the work done prior to 1971. For more intensive study, bibliographies of current and past work should be consulted. An excellent source of bibliographical data is the International Abstracts in Operations Research, by the International Federation of Operational Research Societies, (IFORS). / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

D.Comm. / The airline industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world today. The average international air traffic growth will be approximately 5.1% per annum, compared to an average worldwide economic growth of 3.2% per annum, for the period 1996 — 2015. This would lead to an estimated yearly demand for aircraft financing of between US530 and US545 billion. However, fundamental changes experienced by the air transport industry, due to liberalisation and deregulation resulting from globalisation, led to excessive competition and industry losses. Airlines and financial institutions alike are therefore pressurised to apply innovative financial techniques and methodologies (or new applications of old techniques) to meet the growing financing needs of the industry. Likewise, the expansion of the domestic and regional South African air transport industry and the isolation of the South African financial institutions prior to 1990 also necessitated an assessment of the airline environments and the factors influencing it. The aims of this study are therefore to contribute to the South African field of knowledge of international aircraft financing techniques and methodologies, in order to assess, from a transport economic point of view, the interface between the internal and. external airline environments in terms of a systems approach and the impact of this on aircraft financing; to assess the extent to which airlines could redress their creditworthiness to ensure profitable operations; and to make an original contribution towards this study field in the form of a more accurate calculation of the net present value (NPV) when options are considered for assetbased financing. In order to achieve the aims of the study, the external, internal and. intangible market airline environments are assessed from a financial manager's viewpoint. The way in which financiers evaluate airline management's ability to manage threats and opportunities from the controllable and uncontrollable variables emanating from these environments was also assessed. The capital markets, transaction structuring, securitisation, and financing techniques and methodologies are then discussed. Finally, some ways in which management could counteract threats and constraints from the environments to maximise system output, and therefore address airline creditworthiness, is discussed. It is concluded that the air transport industry is multi-dimensional, extremely complex and dynamic; that uncontrollable factors, for example, technology and regulation influence an airline's profitability and. thus its creditworthiness; that quality airlines are sought after by financiers; that financiers are evaluating management's business acumen in particular; that a mixture analyses will determine a project's risk, debt capacity and profitability; that strategic planning and a business plan is critical in airline operations; that individual investments should be part of a long-term financial strategy; that a few new developments in aircraft financing are anticipated; that there are numerous ways in which management can cut costs and procure income and that management should be acquainted with available financing techniques and methodologies. This study contributes to an information database of aircraft financing techniques and methodologies that could be used by the South African banking industry. Lastly, a more comprehensive NPV formula makes an original contribution to this study.

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M.Com. (Transport Economics) / In the past, air freight was generally a by-product of passenger orientated airlines in the sense that excess payload and unsold passenger seats were sold as air cargo space. In recent years, this trend has changed and it is observed that the air freight industry is increasingly becoming an industry in itself. The individual market share of scheduled international air freight operations within the air transport industry is currently approximately 35,8%. In South Africa, compared to the rest of the world, the historical development of air freight has been slower and confined primarily to the one national carrier (South African Airways (SAA)). The purpose of this study is, to firstly, determine the potential for growth in the air freight market within and outside South Africa. Secondly, to isolate and describe the factors within SAA which are sub-optimal and therefore have a negative impact on the development of the full potential of the air freight services of the carrier. The overall conclusion of the study is that the market for air freight within and outside of South Africa can be expanded significantly. This conclusion is dependent on the positioning and equipping of the freight division of SAA independently from passenger services, together with the provision of specialist knowledge and systems required for effective air freight management.