Evaluating the multi-period efficiency of East Asia airport companies

The aim of this study is to analyze how internal operating sub-processes and annual operations of airport companies influence the overall efficiency. The multi-period Network Data Envelopment Analysis is used to evaluate the efficiencies and the efficiency changes for East Asia airport companies. The results indicate that the overall efficiencies of airport companies during a specified period of time are affected by the system efficiency and the sub-processes’ efficiencies in individual periods. Furthermore, the overall efficiency change is determined by the sub-processes’ efficiency changes. According to the operating decision analysis matrix, managers can discover the inefficient sub-processes and formulate the improvement countermeasures.     

Comparative analysis of efficiency for major Southeast Asia airports: A two-stage approach

Within the past few years, the economy of Southeast Asia has been expanding rapidly with the rise in demand for air transport services. International airports are important driving forces for Southeast Asia countries' economies. Therefore, the competitive ability of these airports is very essential in terms of development and competitiveness within the region. This paper investigates the capabilities of these airports by a two-stage approach. The strengths and weaknesses of each Southeast Asia airport are evaluated by Data Envelopment Analysis – Slack-Based Measurement (DEA-SBM) in the first stage. This is a non-parametric approach to measure the efficiency of 9 major airports in the area including Changi Airport (Singapore), Suvarnabhumi Airport (Thailand), Kuala Lumpur Airport (Malaysia), Soekarno Hatta Airport (Indonesia), Ninoy Aquino Airport (the Philippines), Noi Bai Airport, Tan Son Nhat Airport (Vietnam) and Guangzhou Baiyun Airport (China), Hong Kong Airport (Hong Kong). In the second stage, Tobit regression is used to estimate the influence of multiple factors toward the efficiency of each airport. By generalizing and comparing two stages, the analysis allows us to evaluate each airport's efficiency in seven years, as well as the impact of multiple factors in one airport's performance. The implications for improvement are also obtained and discussed.     

Cargo market competition among Asia Pacific's major airports

Globalization and the ensuing changes in the supply chain network have strengthened competition among airports. For this study, we selected 13 primary airports in Asia Pacific, and investigated their competition, airport hierarchy, and competitive potential in cargo markets in terms of demand and supply. Specifically, we examined indicators including flight frequency, route distributions, composition of flag carriers, international trade, and centrality of the selected airports. The results revealed that Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), and Incheon International Airport (ICN) had the greatest competitive advantage of distinct developmental patterns. Compared with TPE and ICN, which are national-carrier-oriented airports, HKG and PVG have been developed efficiently in the network of both national and foreign carriers. Although TPE and ICN perform well in the networks of conventional carriers, PVG is competitive in the network of all-freight carriers, and HKG performs efficiently in both the networks of the conventional and all-freight carriers. Overall, Hong Kong International Airport has been prominent in the Asia–Pacific air-cargo market. Nevertheless, considering the networks of the integrator carriers, Chinese airports have the most potential in this region.     

CO2 emissions associated with hubbing activities in air transport: an international comparison

Hubbing is an important operational practice in air transport. Many studies have been conducted to examine the benefits and impacts of hubbing from an economic perspective. However, its impact on CO₂ emissions, especially across different air spaces, is not well understood. This paper explores the impact of hubbing activities in air transport from an environmental perspective. With a detailed methodology and data from the Greek and Hong Kong/Sanya flight information regions (FIRs), three levels of CO₂ emissions are estimated: airport-based, airspace-based and flight-based. After contrasting the CO₂ emission efficiencies of Athens International Airport (AIA) and the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), aircraft type and flight distance are examined to explain their emission efficiency differences. It is found that HKIA is associated with poorer CO₂ emission efficiency at the airport and airspace levels because of the larger aircraft and longer flight distance. However, when CO₂ emission efficiency at the flight level is considered, HKIA, with a higher passenger load factor, performs better. Major international hub airports should implement additional environmental measures to minimize the impact of hubbing activities on CO₂ emissions at the airport and airspace levels.     

Analysing passenger network changes: The case of Hong Kong

Passenger throughput at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has shown steady growth since its opening. Various aspects relating to HKIA have been studied in prior literature. This paper investigated changes in HKIA's passenger network for the period of 2001–2012 and used the gravity model to examine the key factors explaining its passenger traffic flows. The findings suggested that HKIA's passenger network has changed significantly and expanded to many new different destinations. Two regions (East Asia and Southeast Asia) were the most important markets for HKIA, and most key destinations connected by Hong Kong showed healthy growth. Nine factors could explain passenger traffic flows between Hong Kong and its key destinations: Hong Kong GDP per capita, GDP per capita of destinations connected by HKIA, distance, airport hub status of the destination airport, tourist destinations connected by HKIA, numbers of passenger airlines in service, bilateral trade flows, speaking a common language and having strong cultural/colonial links with Hong Kong, and the route presence of Cathay Pacific.     

Sustainable airport development with performance evaluation forecasts: A case study of 12 Asian airports

This study evaluates airport performance from 2014 to 2021 with actual and forecasted data to help plan airport sustainability and establish sustainable airport development strategies. Eight Chinese airports (PEK, PVG, CAN, SZX, SHA, XMN, HAK, and HKG) and four representative Asian airports (HND, ICN, SIN, and DEL) are studied. Airport performance is evaluated from the process level (i.e. operational processes providing aeronautical service and financial processes providing commercial service) to the airport level using the Network DEA with actual and forecasted data from the grey model. Results indicate that HKG has been and will be efficient for the entire study period. There is an observed trend of an overall efficiency decrease during the forecast period of 2018–2021. This study classifies operationally efficient airports (PEK, HND, and XMN) and financially efficient airports (HAK, ICN, and DEL). Mainland Chinese airports show significantly higher operational efficiency than financial efficiency, and lower rankings in overall efficiency. It is expected that mainland Chinese airports will soon develop beyond the transportation center, possibly towards the aerotropolis, balancing economic, social, and environmental aspects for sustainable development. This study helps airport management to evaluate sustainable development strategies by assessing current and near future conditions affecting sustainability.     

Operational efficiency of Asia–Pacific airports

Airports are important drivers of economic development and thus under tremendous pressure from emerging competitors. However, few studies have analysed the operational efficiency of Asia–Pacific airports. This study therefore evaluated the operational efficiency of 21 Asia–Pacific airports between 2002 and 2011. A two-stage method was used: Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to assess airport efficiency, followed by the second-stage regression analysis to identify the key determinants of airport efficiency. The first-stage DEA results indicated that Adelaide, Beijing, Brisbane, Hong Kong, Melbourne, and Shenzhen are the efficient airports. The second-stage regression analysis suggested that percentage of international passengers handled by an airport, airport hinterland population size, dominant airline(s) of an airport when entering global airline strategic alliance, and an increase in GDP per capita are significant in explaining variations in airport efficiency.     

Evaluation of level of service for transfer passengers at airports

Transfer passengers have quite different needs than those of originating and terminating passengers. For example, they do not make use of airport access roads. Other facilities may or may not be used depending on the type of transfers, the airport's operational configuration and the airline services. Despite the increasing importance of transfer passengers for airport operations, little research has been done to determine their needs. This study analyses transfer passengers’ views on the quality of services at the terminal building, using data collected at Bandaranaike International Airport in Sri Lanka, which aspires along with the airline ‘Sri Lankan’ to be a major hub for South Asia. Regression analysis was used to identify the transfer passenger facilities and services with the strongest effect on the overall perception of level of service. The application of regression analysis to the data collected at Bandaranaike International Airport shows that the courtesy of the security check staff and the quality of the Flight Information Display are among the most valued by transfer passengers at that airport.     

Wayfinding in the passenger terminal of Hong Kong International Airport

One of the important features of airport passenger terminal layout is passenger orientation (wayfinding). Many people have difficulty in locating their desired destination within an airport despite the availability of information signs. This paper describes the use of a quantitative measure, or visibility index, to evaluate the ease of orientation in the departure lounge of Hong Kong International Airport. Based on the visibility index, a new set of level-of-service standards for orientation is proposed. The findings of this paper are compared with those of previous studies.     

Warehouse location problems for air freight forwarders: a challenge created by the airport relocation

The move of Hong Kong International Airport from the city centre to a suburban area in July 1998 provided sufficient capacity to meet the increasing demand of passenger and air-cargo flows in Hong Kong in the foreseeable future. However, the move has adverse side effects such as causing the readjustment of many existing systems and creating many imminent strategic problems. One of such problems is the warehouse location of freight forwarders: they have to decide whether they should locate their warehouses in the new airport, in current locations, or in new locations somewhere in the city. This paper delineates the results of a survey conducted in the summer of 1997 before the airport was relocated. The survey asked what decisions the freight forwarders had made and how they evaluated some potential warehouse locations. The paper also considers two mathematical models, which explain and predict, respectively, the location pattern of freight forwarder warehouses before and after the relocation of the airport.     

Simulation method for dispatching national border security manpower to mitigate manpower shortage

Recently, a record number of passengers have entered and exited Taiwan from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TTIA). The number of passengers from Taiwan to mainland China has increased largely because of the improvement of cross-strait cultural interaction and other policies, as well as the opening of direct flights. Not only located in the transport hub of the East Asia Taoyuan International Airport is becoming more important and can provide 24 h Airport service, but also airport immigration officers must take 24 h shift to carry out the passenger document inspection requirement, Immigration officers can be fatigued by long shifts, thus negatively affecting border security clearance efficiency and work performance. Consequently, innovative management practices regarding immigration officers are necessary to strengthen international cooperation against terrorism. This study used system simulation Delphi interviews and a heuristic algorithm to determine the required number of airport immigration officers during a fixed passenger waiting time, for improving the efficiency and stability of airport immigration officers who work to consolidate the border security of the country. The results showed that the utilization of airport immigration officers at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is higher than 97.99%, and their work hours have been reduced by more than 54.68%. These results proved that using a system simulation can reduce long work shifts and negligence, which can lead improved border security and airport service quality. Additionally, the simulation results that when the National Immigration Agency and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport implement the biometrics verification system for noncitizens, significant manpower shortages are expected. These shortages can cause complaints from customers and result in a negative image of the quality of airport service. Assigning priority to setting the E-GATE system to compensate for the lack of immigration officers would result in more efficient and effective border security.     

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.     

Small community airport choice behavior analysis: A case study of GTR

The issue of airport selection attracts considerable attention. However, most studies focus on using advanced discrete choice models to analyze airport choice behavior in metropolitan areas with several closely located, competing airports. This paper addresses passengers’ choice behavior in selecting between local small community airports and more distant major commercial airport. It looks at factors affecting air travelers’ airport choice behavior in cities with small community air service. Data relating to the Golden Triangle Regional Airport in Mississippi is used in logistic regressions to identify the key factors that influence air travelers’ airport choices. Ticket price, experience with Golden Triangle Regional Airport and flight schedule were found to be the strongest effects.     

An application of the airport service quality model in South Africa

Passengers’ expectations of service quality at airports are becoming increasingly important as air traffic grows. This research investigated passengers’ perceptions of airport service quality at O.R. Tambo International Airport, South Africa. An existing model placing the concept of passenger expectations central to measuring an airport’s specific level of performance was applied. The results proved significant in terms of the investment made by the airport in staff training and highlighted areas for improvement. The results show that business travellers and leisure travellers have different opinions regarding the importance of services offered by airports and of the level of performance at ORTIA in particular. Significant differences also occur in the perceptions of frequent travellers and infrequent travellers.     

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.     

Development of level of service standards for airport facilities: Application to São Paulo International Airport

A methodology for developing level of service (LOS) standards at airport passenger terminals based on user perceptions is developed. The underlying concept is the derivation of quantitative values for passenger perceptions of service based on airport surveys. The check-in counter component is evaluated considering factors that have a bearing on the user perceptions of LOS: processing time, waiting time, and space available per person. The study uses data obtained from a passenger survey conducted at São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport, Brazil. The results indicate that we can derive quantitative perception scales from qualitative survey data. Finally, a multi-attribute analysis is done to obtain a composite evaluation of LOS at the check-in counter as a function of the waiting time, processing time, and space available.     

Efficiency drivers of international airports: A worldwide benchmarking study

The main purpose of these work was to identify operational efficiency drivers of international airports. In order to achieve this, a two-step quantitative-qualitative research approach was conducted. In the first step, a two-stage DEA model was used, and it was possible to identify, within a sample of the 60 biggest airports from the six Airport Council International (ACI) regions, the most efficient airports of the world: Beijing International Airport, Heathrow International Airport, Dubai International Airport, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. In the second step of the research, four airports were selected in order to search for the efficiency drivers. In this context, Heathrow International Airport was considered to be a benchmark and presented most of the identified efficiency drivers (27 of 31). Standing out were Just-in-Time (JIT) and Total Quality Management (TQM) principles and also Passenger boarding optimization, besides the presence of almost all of the most relevant efficiency drivers, according to airport managers.     

Offsite passenger service facilities: A viable option for airport access?

Offsite passenger service facilities transfer passengers from a common location to an airport and may provide additional services such as baggage handling and passenger check-in. Although they are conceptually promising, there is a lack of modern methods specifically tailored to forecast their demand. This paper reports on the development of two sequential models that forecast demand for an offsite facility. Models were calibrated based on data collected at six airports in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Virginia. The results showed that likely candidates for an offsite facility are airports that are not easily accessible, and departing air passengers with early morning flight departure times and high variability in ground travel times to the airport. A case study demonstrates the application of the models to Virginia’s Richmond International Airport.     

US airport financial reform and its implications for airport efficiency: An exploratory investigation

This study investigates the effect on airport productive efficiency of two major funding sources used by US airports, namely the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants and the Passenger Facility Charges (PFC). A two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) modeling approach is employed for this purpose. In the first stage, we estimate airport productive efficiency using a variable returns-to-scale DEA model with both desirable and undesirable outputs. In the second stage, random effects regression models are estimated with airport efficiency scores from the first stage as the dependent variable and PFC and a proxy for AIP grants as two of the explanatory variables. By applying the two-stage DEA model to 42 primary US airports, it is found that PFC use has a positive impact on airport productive efficiency, whereas the impact of AIP grants is negative. Multiple counterfactual scenarios are examined by altering the mix of the two types of funding sources. The results show that simultaneously raising the PFC ceiling and decreasing AIP grants could lead to greater airport productive efficiency. The US federal aviation authority would also benefit from realizing these scenarios, especially given the budgetary constraints it faces.     

An exploratory study into airport choice factors for European low-cost airlines

Low-cost carriers are an increasingly important part of the European aviation industry. Airport choice is a crucial factor in determining their success or failure. While research has been conducted into airport choice factors, their relative rankings have not previously been investigated. This paper addresses this through an exploratory survey of eight European low-cost airlines. The paper finds that demand for low-cost services is the most important choice factor, with aeronautical charges ranked fourth. Further analysis reveals different requirements depending upon airline characteristics. This implies that airport managers need to tailor their service offering to individual low-cost airlines rather than treating the sector uniformly.