Criteria for services of air cargo logistics providers: How do they relate to client satisfaction?

This study investigates the factors that influence client satisfaction with logistics outsourcing, taking into account the client's subjective attitude towards service criteria for air cargo logistics providers. We define the construct of service criteria of air cargo logistics providers, provide an empirical validation of the construct, develop scales for service criteria and client satisfaction with desirable psychometric properties, and explore theoretical and practical applications. Empirical evidences support five key service criteria factors of importance; delivery value, knowledge innovation value, service value-added, information value, and performance satisfaction value. Four key client satisfaction factors are reliability, agility, customization, and flexibility. A significant relationship between the service criteria of air cargo logistics providers and client satisfaction is also identified.     

Best practice benchmarking: a route to competitiveness?

This paper examines the use of best practice benchmarking as an approach to performance improvement in the airline industry. The case study draws upon phenomenological evidence from the aircraft maintenance section of Britannia Airways. A range of benchmarking issues, which could be applied to different divisions of an airline are highlighted. In particular, inter disciplinary team building, employee involvement, relationships with other industry players and identification of `best in class'. Airline alliances and the global trend towards economically deregulated air transport are identified as factors likely to increase the adoption of benchmarking as a route to competitiveness.     

Customer perspective on overbooking: The failure of customers to enjoy their reserved services,accidental or intended?

Overbooking is widely applied in the service industry to hedge against undesirable situations, such as cancellations and no-shows. However, during the implementation of overbooking, service providers may turn down some customers when the number of arrivals exceeds their capacity on the target date. Therefore, this paper examines overbooking from the customers' perspective to offer them a clear perception on the possibility for their reservations to be denied by the service provider. By establishing a Stackelberg model between a service provider and an online travel agency, we explore how optimal overbooking strategy is developed by the service provider. Afterward, by analyzing the obtained optimal overbooking pad, we calculate the probabilities of denied service under different levels of monetary compensation that is paid to denied customers. A higher monetary compensation guarantees a higher chance of successful service. This paper also provides customers with some reference when booking services.     

The growth of Arabian airlines from a German perspective – A study of the impacts of new air services to Asia

Airlines from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman have gained significant market shares in international air transport. Traditionally travellers have chosen hubs like Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London or Paris as transfer points for trips to Asia. With the inauguration of non-stop services to places like Abu Dhabi, Doha or Dubai, new choices for air travellers have emerged. We analyse data derived from German air transport statistics on the effects of passenger flows between the airports of Düsseldorf and Hamburg to Asian destinations. They suggest that services introduced by Emirates stimulated passenger demand for Asian destinations, while incumbent hubs do not lose transfer passengers. Regarding travel times and connection quality of routings between secondary airports in Germany and Asian destinations, comparing routings of Emirates Airlines and Lufthansa suggests that due to geographic and scheduling constraints, services via Arabia do not constitute a perfect substitute for time-sensitive passengers.     

The distinction between commercial and non-commercial bus services in Germany: Given by nature?

German public transport services by bus are characterized by a regulatory framework that distinguishes between commercial and non-commercial services. Contrary to the apparent views of legislators, this paper shows that costs and revenues are not the only parameters determining whether or not operators are able to provide services in a commercially viable way.Apart from the local characteristics of the specific service, we show that the classification of services as commercial versus non-commercial is determined in large part by the public transport authorities that set minimum quality standards to be provided by operators. Our analysis shows that the authorities awarding the contracts in some cases affect market organization significantly depending on how they make use of this power. Furthermore, market organization differs substantially with respect to the awarding structure and the contractual relationships, thus creating a challenge for operators and authorities in an embryonic market.     

Hot or not? The role of cycling in ASEAN megacities: Case studies of Bangkok and Manila

The Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) recognizes the role of nonmotorized transport for sustainable urban development in its policy framework. National and local policymakers in Thailand and The Philippines, two tropical countries without a tradition of urban cycling, are increasingly paying attention to cycling as well. This article aims to assess the current situation and progress in cycling, using Bangkok and Metropolitan Manila as case study cities, and to describe the necessary conditions for advancing the significance of cycling in tropical megacities. This is done by operationalizing the so-called Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) framework, which has been used in transition studies since 2008, however, never for cycling. As such this article also “tests” this framework for its application in sustainable transportation. The two case studies are characterized with regards to the current role of cycling in the mobility system, its infrastructure, governance system, and existing research on the potential and barriers. We find that TIS can readily be applied to our cases, with the analysis showing that elements such as knowledge development, actor networks, e-bike adoption, infrastructure, resource mobilization and legitimation are not well developed; on the other hand, flat terrain, attention for cycling for health and environment, heavy congestion, expansion of public transport, growing bike industry, active university communities, and the emergence of advocacy coalitions, could open up opportunities for increasing its modal share.     

The impact of emigrants’ homeland relations on air travel demand in a security volatile market: a case study on Lebanon

The impacts of international migration have been heavily studied. Much of this analysis has been carried out within the framework of the economic and social effects of migrants, to both host and home countries. This paper looks at the impact of Lebanese emigrants’ homeland relations on air travel demand in a security volatile market. The emphasis is on two particular features: first, the principal impact of liberal air transport policies in facilitating emigrants’ home visits; and second, the sensitivity of passenger-GDP relation. The paper pulls together data and other cases on the Lebanese emigration evolution and explains its impacts on the economy as well as on the air transport market in Lebanon. The study findings suggest that in Lebanon and due to the presence of interrelated factors, the variation and the strength of the relationship between traffic levels and GDP are neither consistent nor static. The considerably huge expatriate communities, which are three times greater than the Lebanese residents, are said to defy the negative impact of security instability on the air passenger growth through frequently visiting expats. Moreover, the emigrants’ economic support to Lebanon through remittance inflows is observed to dampen the sensitivity of the relationship between passenger and GDP in times of war and peace. The results should be looked at as indicative of trends to encourage policy makers to consider how best to make use of these human and financial flows.     

Paying the pilot? The economics of subsidising international air travel to small remote island nations with large diaspora

The tourism-air transport linkage may be complicated by the presence of substantial non-tourist leisure travel flows. This paper analyses the value of direct long-haul air service to Los Angeles for two small South Pacific nations, Tonga and the Cook Islands, which were faced with demands that they subsidise the current service to ensure its continuation. Both countries are tourist destinations, but both also have sizeable diaspora of economic emigrants living abroad, which generate considerable visiting friends and relatives traffic. It turns out that the economics of this travel are quite different from those relating to foreign tourism, such that it is possible that Tonga could actually lose by having the long-haul service. The bottom line is that the Cook Islands do gain, and that Tonga probably does, though in both cases by less than the amount of subsidies that they agreed to pay the airline.     

Boat or airplane? Passengers’ perceptions of transport services to islands. The example of the Greek domestic leisure market

Tourism is often the main economic activity of islands, making transport services vital. Recent research indicates that direct competition between air and sea transport tends to increase for the leisure market segment. This paper looks into the characteristics and perceptions of leisure passengers in an effort to identify the effect they have on modal choice. By examining the Greek Aegean region as a case study, the findings identify differences in passenger perceptions, which can influence modal choice and competition.     

The Northeast Asian air transport network: is there a possibility of creating Open Skies in the region?

Unlike in the US and the European Union aviation markets, the Northeast Asian markets are still very fragmented. As a result, the passenger and air freight collection/distribution systems in the region are very inefficiently organized. The primary reason for the inefficient and inconvenient air carrier networks in the region is the restrictive bilateral air services agreements between Asian countries. This paper documents the nature and extent of the restrictive bilateral agreements among China, Japan and Korea, evaluates several bilateral or trilateral approaches for liberalizing the regional air transport markets, and makes a proposal which would increase substantially the probability of achieving an Open Skies market in the region. In particular, the current approach to liberalize the bilateral air services agreements among China, Korea and Japan has limitations even in the medium term because of China's and, to a less extent, Japan's reluctance to remove price and capacity restrictions. Therefore, as an institutional solution we propose to create bi-national (for bilateral negotiations) or tri-national (for trilateral negotiations) ‘Trade and Transport Facilitation Committees’, that can pursue a practical avenue to tie air transport negotiations with those of other goods and services trade.     

The application of a neural network approach to predicting bankruptcy risks facing the major US air carriers: 1979–1996

Airline bankruptcy, an unheard of event prior to the deregulation of the US airline industry, has become rather commonplace. Over 123 air carriers have filed receivership since 1982, and several large carriers have sought court protection more than once in the past decade. In spite of record airline profits over the past two years, the financial condition of many carriers still remains fragile. The huge financing requirements of the industry over the next decade, driven by the carriers’ need to replace aging fleets of aircraft, will create further stress for many. The ability to assess the level of this financial stress is important to many groups, including stockholders, bondholders, other creditors, financial analysts, governmental regulatory bodies, and the general public. For this reason, models that can forecast financial distress are useful. Building on prior research by several of the authors, who utilized multiple discriminant models driven by financial ratios, a neural network approach is employed to increase the reliability of the forecasts. In this paper, a neural net is trained with the result that it successfully classifies 26 out of 26 carriers in the holdout (test) set.     

Can stopovers be induced to revisit transit hubs as stayovers? A new perspective on the relationship between air transportation and tourism

This research examines the potential of transit hubs and affiliated airlines to stimulate future stayover visits by stopover passengers, thereby securing new market opportunities for the host destination and a new relationship between the transportation and tourism sectors. Data were obtained from 694 stopovers who transited with Singapore Airlines through Singapore Changi International Airport but had no prior stayover visit. ‘High influence’, ‘low influence’ and ‘selected influence’ clusters indicated how nine selected services and facilities differentially stimulated their interest to revisit Singapore. Especially influential are generic services such as the Singapore Girl service style, and specific facilities such as the airport Butterfly Garden. These therefore no longer situate as simple facilities that only provide utilitarian transport services for passengers; occupying the blurred boundaries between the transit and destination regions, they frame Singapore's hub airport and national carrier as a type of ‘quasi-destination’. Appropriate strategic considerations are recommended to maximise their conversion potential.     

Implications for CARICOM member states in the search for a ‘liberally controlled’ air transport market: The case of regional tourism to Barbados

This study presents an analysis of the state of aviation liberalisation in CARICOM (Caribbean Community) and its implications for regional tourism to Barbados as a member state in CARICOM. The evidence shows that improvements to the regulatory aviation environment in CARICOM would aid improvements in intra-regional tourism. Given the benefits that have been obtained globally, previous studies have been deductive and analysed the benefits of a less restrictive aviation environment in the region. However, the inductive approach of this study reveals that before there can be a successful attempt at any such liberalism in CARICOM, there are pre-existing constraining factors which must be addressed since they will hinder the effectiveness of any such policy. The study therefore proposes that the effectiveness of the existing regional multilateral agreement is hindered by political interference, not only in the overall context of aviation bureaucracy, but also in the business operations of the regional carriers.     

The formation of the tourist's loyalty to the tourism distribution channel: how does it affect price discounts?

Given that distribution agents who wish to maximize long‐term business profits should not only attract new consumers but also keep them loyal, this study analyses the variables that determine the consumer's loyalty to distribution agents for tourism. Although retailers in the service industry employ price discounts on products to motivate short‐term sales, they often establish promotional policies without considering their effect on the long‐term business results. This paper presents an empirical study of the effect of price promotions on tourists who travelled with a package tour. The results indicate that price discounts do not erode consumer loyalty directly, and that the key to obtaining loyal consumers is to offer package tours that customers perceive as providing high‐quality service. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Walking accessibility to bus rapid transit: Does it affect property values? The case of Bogotá, Colombia

This research sheds light on the relation of bus rapid transit and residential property values within walking distance to the system. The case study was Bogotá’s Transmilenio (Colombia). This research conducted a city-wide econometric hedonic analysis with 2000 to 2004 Department of Housing Control data across different walking distances, subsystems (trunk, feeder), socio-economic strata and time. The main results showed that, with respect to the value of properties in relation to proximity, the housing market places value premiums on the properties in the immediate walking proximity of feeder lines. The analysis by socio-economic strata showed that middle-income properties were valued more if they fell closer to the system, while there were opposite results for low-income housing. Finally, analysis across time reflects slight average annual increases in property values correlated with the implementation of the system in two specific areas analyzed. Throughout the paper, the author acknowledges some of the challenges of using hedonic modeling for property value impact assessments and emphasizes that the interpretation of the results are case specific.     

The National Cycle Strategy in the UK: to what extent have local authorities adopted its model strategy approach?

In 1996 the UK government announced a National Cycle Strategy (NCS) which included a model local cycle strategy. This paper reports on the findings of an ongoing research project, which seeks to evaluate the extent to which recently published local cycle strategies reflect best practice as enshrined in the model guidance. The results suggest that the level of take up of the model strategy is highly variable and ranges from authorities which adopt the model in its entirety to those that effectively ignore it. If government targets for increasing cycle use are to be achieved then it will be necessary for more local authorities to develop robust plans which are consistent with the NCS.