Measuring aeronautical service efficiency and commercial service efficiency of East Asia airport companies: An application of Network Data Envelopment Analysis

Improving operation efficiency has become an important development strategy for many airport companies. However, there is little research on these companies' operating process decomposition or discussing the causes of inefficiency in sub-processes. This study evaluates the overall efficiency and the operational efficiencies of aeronautical service sub-process and commercial service sub-process for 10 East Asia airport companies from 2009 to 2013 using Network Data Envelopment Analysis (NDEA) and identifies the key influencing factors of respective sub-processes efficiency by employing the Panel Data model. The first-stage NDEA results indicate that only Airport Authority Hong Kong in 2012 and 2013 performed efficiently in both sub-processes and achieved overall efficiency. The overall efficiencies of all other companies are not high. During the entire study period, in aeronautical service sub-process, Beijing Capital International Airport Co., Ltd. and Shanghai International Airport Co., Ltd. performed efficiently, while in commercial service sub-process, only Hong Kong airport performed efficiently. The second-stage regression analysis implies the number of airlines served and the number of destinations have significant and positive influences on the efficiency of aeronautical service. Non-aeronautical revenues and service quality have significant and positive influences on commercial service efficiency.     

Endogenous control of service rates in stochastic and dynamic queuing models of airport congestion

Airport congestion mitigation requires reliable delay estimates. This paper presents an integrated model of airport congestion that combines a tactical model of capacity utilization into a strategic queuing model. The model quantifies the relationships between flight schedules, airport capacity and flight delays, while accounting for the way arrival and departure service rates can be controlled over the day to maximize operating efficiency. We show that the model estimates the average and variability of the delays observed at New York’s airports relatively well. Results suggest that delays can be extremely sensitive to even small changes in flight schedules or airport capacity.     

Greek airports: Efficiency measurement and analysis of determinants

This paper presents a performance evaluation of the Greek airports considering their relative technical efficiencies and factors determining these determinants. The analysis shows the importance of seasonality in demand on the performance of the airports, and the effect of location, size and operating characteristics on their technical efficiency, signifying peculiarities of the Greek airport system.     

Determining the relationship between ownership and technical efficiency by using a dynamic stochastic production frontier approach

This study adopts dynamic stochastic production frontier approach. Because of the impact of quasi-fixed inputs, airports cannot immediately adjust their production processes. Based on the heterogeneity of public and private airports’ operation models, this study estimates their individual production adjustment speed and their short-run and long-run technical efficiencies to compare transnational airport business performance. The results reveal the differences in the production adjustment of airport groups under different ownerships and performance. Private airports have faster production adjustment, whereas public airports have higher short-run and long-run technical efficiencies. As their primary goal, public airports should strive to increase the elasticity of production adjustment to increase the production adjustment speed, thus improving their long-run technical efficiency. On the other hand, private airports should prioritize eliminating short-run inefficiency to increase their actual output level, thereby improving their long-run technical efficiency.     

Can we explain airport performance? A case study of selected New York airports using a stochastic frontier model

This paper uses stochastic frontier models to assess whether technical efficiency at Newark Liberty International, New York John F. Kennedy International, and New York LaGuardia airports improved from June to August 2008 compared with the summers of 2000 and 2007. An airport is efficient if it can handle operations on-time by minimizing overall demand and maximizing available airport capacity. Granger-causality tests determined the factors that may cause changes in key components and indicators of airport performance. Compared with the other airports, JFK experienced the greatest improvement in technical efficiency. The Granger-causality tests stressed the significance of airport operations and en route factors in supporting efficiency.     

Evaluating the multi-period operating efficiency of international airports using data envelopment analysis and the Malmquist productivity index

For the most part, airports are publicly or semi-publicly owned and operated with fixed assets. As such, airports have been often considered little more than infrastructure providers for airlines. However, as airports have begun to offer a variety of ancillary services including passenger transfers, re-fueling, parking, and shopping, they no longer play second fiddle to airlines. To come into their own, a growing number of airports realized their need to develop competitive strategies that can attract more air traffic and generate greater revenue. Such strategies start with the assessment of their competitiveness in terms of operating efficiencies relative to others. To help airport authorities identify major drivers for enhancing the airport operational efficiency and the subsequent competitiveness, this paper evaluates the comparative efficiencies of international airports for a multi-year period (2006–2011) using data envelopment analysis intended for dynamic benchmarking and Malmquist productivity index built on time-series analysis. Our study indicates that the productivity of an airport was influenced by exogenous factors such as shifts in government policies and technological advances rather than endogenous factors driven by improvements in managerial practices.     

Airport ownership and financial performance: Evidence from Italy

In the past few decades many countries have increased the presence of various forms of private sector involvement in airport ownership and management. This paper focuses on the financial performance of Italian airport companies. We present empirical evidence separately for two groups where public or private management majority prevails. The main findings indicate that companies with a private majority outperform the others in terms of financial indicators that are related to operating income.     

The effects of corporate governance on airline performance: Production and marketing efficiency perspectives

This study explores the relationship between operating performance and corporate governance in 30 airline companies operating in the US. First, this study applies a two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to evaluate the production efficiency and marketing efficiency of the airlines. Our findings indicate that, in general, there is not as much dispersion in the relative productive efficiencies of the airlines as there is in their marketing efficiencies. The low-cost airlines, on average, are more efficient carriers than the full-service ones, but less efficient marketers. Secondly, truncated regression is used to explore whether the characteristics of corporate governance affect airline performance. The results demonstrate that corporate governance influences firm performance significantly. Finally, we address the managerial decision-making matrix and make suggestions to help airline managers improve performance.     

Estimating airport efficiency of New Zealand airports

New Zealand's airport industry has experienced substantial growth over recent years, but few studies have analysed the operational efficiency of New Zealand airports. This paper aims to extend the study of Francis and Lyon (2007) by exploring the efficiency and productivity changes of New Zealand's major airports between 2010 and 2012, using slacks-based measure (SBM) model and the Malmquist productivity index (MPI). The findings suggested that the majority of New Zealand airports increased efficiency and productivity during the period under investigation, but should decrease scale of operations in order to operate at their most productive size. Decomposition of the MPI showed that most New Zealand airports experienced gains in efficiency but, in terms of technology, they have regressed. Four significant factors (i.e. airport hub status, airport operating hours, airport ownership, and the Rugby World Cup 2011) were identified by the Simar–Wilson bootstrapping regression analysis as explaining variations in airport efficiency. Importantly, the significant effect of the Rugby World Cup 2011 (a major sport tournament) on New Zealand's air transport demand and airports' efficiency has been demonstrated in this research.     

Technical efficiency and productivity changes in Spanish airports: A parametric distance functions approach

This paper contributes to the airport benchmarking literature in two ways. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt at using a stochastic distance function to measure airports’ productivity changes while considering multiple outputs. Secondly, we calculate the evolution and decomposition of the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) for Spanish airports. The average rate of productivity showed a slight annual improvement of 0.9%, and the core engine of this was 3% increase in technical progress rather than through efficiency. Results, by airport, identify those needing improvement, to be more attractive in the Spanish airport restructuring program.     

The Italian airport industry in transition: a performance analysis

This paper analyzes the impacts of Italian government actions on the efficiency of 36 airports between 2001 and 2003. The changes have included privatization, enlargement of the services provided directly by airport management companies, through the modification of the concession agreements, and the creation of two hubs. The analysis, using the consolidated two-stage data envelopment analysis with bootstrapping, indicates that airports with a majority public holding are on average more efficient and the presence of two hubs is source of inefficiency.     

Productivity changes in Portuguese bus companies

This paper proposes a framework for benchmarking Portuguese bus companies and the rationalisation of their operational activities, using the Luenberger productivity indicator. A key advantage of this method is that it allows for both input contraction and output expansion in determining relative efficiencies and productivity changes. For comparative purposes, a Malmquist index is also estimated. The Malmquist index overvalues the Luenberger productivity indicator. Results indicate that public bus companies have similar efficiency to private bus companies. Several interesting and useful managerial insights and policy implications arise from the study.     

Privatization,corporatization, ownership forms and their effects on the performance of the world's major airports

This paper focuses on measuring and comparing productive efficiency and profitability among airports owned and operated by government departments, 100% government-owned corporations, independent airport authorities, mixed enterprises with government majority ownership and mixed enterprises with private majority ownership. The analysis is based on a cross-sectional, time-series dataset (2001–2003) for the major Asia-Pacific, European and North American airports. There is strong evidence that airports with government majority ownership and those owned by multi-level of government are significantly less efficient than airports with a private majority ownership; there is no statistically significant evidence to suggest that airports owned and operated by US government branches, independent airport authorities in North America, or airports elsewhere operated by 100% government corporations have lower operating efficiency than airports with a private majority ownership; airports with a private majority ownership achieve significantly higher operating profit margins than other airports; whereas airports with government majority ownership or multi-level government ownership have the lowest operating profit margin; and generally, airports with a private majority ownership derive a much higher proportion of their total revenue from non-aviation services than any other category of airports while offering significantly lower aeronautical charges than airports in other ownership categories excluding US airports. The results suggest that private–public–partnership with minority private sector participation and multi-level governments’ ownership should be avoided, supporting the majority private sector ownership and operation of airports.     

A fully fuzzy network DEA-Range Adjusted Measure model for evaluating airlines efficiency: A case of Iran

Due to the competition among companies, evaluating the performance is one of the most important issues for managers. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) - Range Adjusted Measure model (RAM) is one of the non-radial models to evaluate the performance of companies. This paper presents a fully fuzzy network DEA-RAM model for evaluating airlines and extends the network DEA-RAM model in the fully fuzzy framework. First, a network structure is designed for airlines and then, a DEA-RAM model is presented for calculating efficiency scores. To handle uncertainty in data, fully fuzzy approach is considered and finally, a multi-objective network model is proposed to calculate airlines’ efficiencies. To solve the proposed fully fuzzy DEA-RAM model, the lexicographic approach is used and the efficiency scores are reported as interval numbers. To illustrate the capability of the proposed fully fuzzy DEA-RAM model, the actual data of 14 Iranian airlines are gathered and the interval efficiencies of airlines are evaluated.     

Operational efficiencies across Asia Pacific airports

This paper analyses various dimensions of operational efficiencies in major Asia Pacific airports through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models that simultaneously account for external macroeconomics and price factors. Results from this study show that technical, scale and mix efficiencies are high among the major Asia Pacific airports. In addition, significant disparities in cost efficiencies were detected amongst these airports. These disparities can be attributed to the presence of country-specific effect and differences in allocative efficiencies. A virtual airport is then introduced as a superior performer to rank the efficiency performances of airports.     

Efficiency and patterns of service mix in airport companies: An input distance function approach

In this paper an input distance function approach is used to evaluate efficiency and technological characteristics of Italian airport companies for the period 2000–2005. This approach is robust to deviations from neoclassical paradigm in terms of cost-minimizing behavior. Duality relationship between the input distance function and the shadow cost function is exploited to derive cost complementarities among outputs. Empirical findings are used to discuss the economic implications connected to changes in airport organization, involving in particular outsourcing of handling operations and development of commercial activities.     

Key drivers of passengers' overall satisfaction at klia2 terminal

The purpose of this study is to examine the airport service quality dimensions based on the ASQ survey and investigate the best predictor for overall satisfaction. The context of this study is the klia2 terminal passengers, which are predominantly users of the low-cost carriers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Secondary data obtained from the airport operator on the 2016 ASQ survey for the klia2 terminal was analysed using the PLS-SEM method. The grouping and impact of the thirty-three service quality elements from the ASQ survey were tested against the overall satisfaction element. The findings indicated that twenty-two out of the thirty-three elements were valid measures for the klia2 terminal users which forms the eight dimensions i.e. access, airport environment, airport facilities, arrival services, check-in, finding your way, passport and security. Airport environment was found as the best predictor in determining passengers’ overall satisfaction at klia2 terminal and should be given particular focus by the airport operator for continuous improvements.     

Efficiency and productivity changes in Greek airports during the crisis years 2010–2014

The aim of this study is to evaluate the operating efficiency and productivity changes of the Greek airports, during the first years of the severe economic crisis in Greece (2010–2014), by using two methods: Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Malmquist Productivity index (MPI). Findings have shown that, despite the dramatic effects of the economic crisis on the socio-economic life of the country, overall airport efficiency and productivity improved, mainly due to exogenous factors such as international tourism growth. The MPI reveals that over the period of the study, airports have experienced an annual average increase in total factor productivity (TFP) of 0.9% (an increase of 3.6% over the examined period). On examining the components of this productivity change, it becomes evident that this is due to the combination of both positive (a slight progress) annual average technology change (0.5%) and technical efficiency change (0.4%). The results also indicate that 65.8% of airports have an increase in average TFP during the period 2010–2014, ranging between 0.4% and 20%. However, as Greek airports operate at poor levels of efficiency, there is still considerable space for improvements in most of the airports.     

Managing passengers’ experience through mobile moments

Travelers' experience is dramatically affected by the use of digital technologies. On the one side, travel companies use them to support management and marketing practices with the purpose of fostering efficiency and ultimately increase competitiveness. On the other side, travelers heavily rely on their digital devices to organize, personalize and to a certain extent ‘live’ their travelling experience. Within this scenario, mobile devices are seen from both ends as crucial mean for location and context based interactive communication. Mobile devices are here discussed as personalization tool for leisure air passengers' experiential journey in an airport starting from customers' journey analysis, along with information sources used within the whole journey.     

Airport alliances and mergers – Structural change in the airport industry?

Recent years have seen a global trend towards the emergence of multi-airport companies operating at a global scale. This paper employs industrial and transaction costs economics to identify the main drivers that shape the patterns of international cross-ownership structures that have emerged in the airport industry. In addition, implications for competition and competition policy are drawn.