Over the past 20 years, there were several low-cost airlines identified as the most successful airlines in Europe according to the number of transported passengers. Theoretical part of the thesis has several objectives. It is an analysis of the airlines success it selves as well as an analysis of their gradual development in low cost air travel within Europe and description of the low-cost aviation market in Europe in terms of the history and competitiveness. The practical part which is the main objective of the thesis is an overall analysis of the differences in business models of low-cost carriers and the impact of these differences on the development of their economic and operational performance.

While worldwide the flight industry was increasing in the last decade, little is known about the working environment of pilots and flight attendants. This paper aims to develop a deeper understanding based on the theories of loyalty, self-loyalty, commitment, and motivation for pilots and flight attendants in the low-cost segment and the carrier segment in the flight industry. A qualitative study with a semi-structured interview is provided. In total, three pilots and three flight attendants who work for a low-cost airline and carrier airlines from all over the world were interviewed. The findings show that a differentiation between before the COVID 19 pandemic and during COVID 19 has to be made. Before COVID 19, pilots were almost satisfied with their working conditions whereas flight attendants felt their working conditions could have been improved in terms of better wages. However, during the COVID 19 time, both the flight attendants and pilots are afraid of losing their job. Due to COVID 19, many flights were cancelled which might have an impact on the flight industry in the future. My studies open up possibilities for new research in the future about the transformation of the flight industry after COVID 19.

abstract: One of the single-most insightful, and visionary talks of the 20th century, “There’s plenty of room at the bottom,” by Dr. Richard Feynman, represented a first foray into the micro- and nano-worlds of biology and chemistry with the intention of direct manipulation of their individual components. Even so, for decades there has existed a gulf between the bottom-up molecular worlds of biology and chemistry, and the top-down world of nanofabrication. Creating single molecule nanoarrays at the limit of diffraction could incentivize a paradigm shift for experimental assays. However, such arrays have been nearly impossible to fabricate since current nanofabrication tools lack the resolution required for precise single-molecule spatial manipulation. What if there existed a molecule which could act as a bridge between these top-down and bottom-up worlds? At ~100-nm, a DNA origami macromolecule represents one such bridge, acting as a breadboard for the decoration of single molecules with 3-5 nm resolution. It relies on the programmed self-assembly of a long, scaffold strand into arbitrary 2D or 3D structures guided via approximately two hundred, short, staple strands. Once synthesized, this nanostructure falls in the spatial manipulation regime of a nanofabrication tool such as electron-beam lithography (EBL), facilitating its high efficiency immobilization in predetermined binding sites on an experimentally relevant substrate. This placement technology, however, is expensive and requires specialized training, thereby limiting accessibility. The work described here introduces a method for bench-top, cleanroom/lithography-free, DNA origami placement in meso-to-macro-scale grids using tunable colloidal nanosphere masks, and organosilane-based surface chemistry modification. Bench-top DNA origami placement is the first demonstration of its kind which facilitates precision placement of single molecules with high efficiency in diffraction-limited sites at a cost of $1/chip. The comprehensive characterization of this technique, and its application as a robust platform for high-throughput biophysics and digital counting of biomarkers through enzyme-free amplification are elucidated here. Furthermore, this technique can serve as a template for the bottom-up fabrication of invaluable biophysical tools such as zero mode waveguides, making them significantly cheaper and more accessible to the scientific community. This platform has the potential to democratize high-throughput single molecule experiments in laboratories worldwide. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Biomedical Engineering 2019

No description available.

An active, broadband antenna module amenable for use in low cost phased arrays is proposed. The module consists of a Vivaldi antenna integrated with a frequency conversion integrated circuit. A method of orthogonally mounting endfire antennas onto an array motherboard is developed using castellated vias. A castellated active isolated Vivaldi antenna package is designed, fabricated, and measured. An 8x1 phased array of castellated, active Vivaldi antenna packages is designed and assembled. Each element has approximately one octave of bandwidth centered in X-band, and each is mounted onto a coplanar waveguide motherboard. Radiation patterns of the array are measured at several frequencies and scan angles.

Thermal management has emerged as an important design issue in a range of designs from portable devices to server systems. Internal thermal sensors are an integral part of such a management system. Process variations in CMOS circuits cause accuracy problems for thermal sensors which can be fixed by calibration tables. Stand-alone thermal sensors are calibrated to fix such problems. However, calibration requires going through temperature steps in a tester, increasing test application time and cost. Consequently, calibrating thermal sensors in typical digital designs including mainstream desktop and notebook processors increases the cost of the processor. This creates a need for design of thermal sensors whose accuracy does not vary significantly with process variations. Other qualities desired from thermal sensors include low area requirement so that many of them maybe integrated in a design as well as low power dissipation, such that the sensor itself does not become a significant source of heat. In this work, we developed a process variation tolerant thermal sensor design with (i) active compensation circuitry and (ii) signal dithering based self calibration technique to meet the above requirements in 32nm technology. Results show that we achieve 3ºC temperature accuracy, with a relatively small design which compares well with designs that are currently used.

This research implemented a multiple case study design to investigate the effects of aesthetic and emotional labor in the premium airline context of Emirates, in comparison to the low-cost airline context of easyJet. This was achieved through the conduct of interviews with flight attendants from each airline as they are the frontline employees who are mostly concerned with the implementation of these standards. Even before the recruitment process employees are introduced to the requirements of aesthetic and emotional labor as airlines aim to find those who will best ‘fit’ their organizational culture, and that through training they will be even more equipped to represent the company during their interactions with customers. Thus, flight attendants are regarded as a strategic resource that contributes to the competitive advantage and organizational performance of airlines. Taking into consideration that aesthetic and emotional labor standards define the very nature of flight attendants’ job and that their performance determines the organization’s performance, the potential effects on their performance cannot be disregarded. The main themes that were yielded through the thematic analysis of the empirical findings were found to be parallel to some of the performance factors in Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation, while aesthetic and emotional labor were located as components within identified themes. Thus, this provided us with a general theoretical framework that allowed us to further discuss our findings in connection to relevant theory. Results showed that the different operational business models as well as the different cultures of each airline mostly contributed to the differences that were found in regard to the implementation of standards between the two contexts. Aesthetic labor standards were found to have a stronger effect on employees’ performance in the case of Emirates due to the fact their supervision was stricter. In both cases, aesthetic labor standards were not found to have an effect on employees' performance when it comes to their interaction with customers. While easyJet was found to receive a more diverse training when it comes to interaction with customers, in both cases emotional labor standards were found to have an overall positive link to employees’ performance not only when it comes to interaction with customers but also when it comes to dealing with co-workers, managers and the demands of the job in general. However, the aspect of personality was found to be a moderating factor influencing employees’ understanding and following of standards. It should be noted that the results of this research cannot be generalized. Further investigation across different contexts and airlines is suggested so as to conclude whether the results are representative of a specific context.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.