Aviation Commons^™

Invisible Aircraft In U.S. Airspace: Regulatory Gaps And Mid-Air Collision Risk For Part 121 Operators, Philip Vandette

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Scheduled air carrier aircraft operate at large and small commercial airports across the U.S. National Airspace System. These turbine-powered aircraft fly at high speeds during departure and approach, yet many commercial airports are not covered by regulations requiring general aviation aircraft to transmit their positions, and some remain exempt from existing requirements. This regulatory gap forces airline pilots to rely on see-and-avoid methods that are impractical at turbine aircraft speeds. This study conducts a quantitative exploratory analysis of three data sources, using a PRISMA-style flow diagram, to examine the frequency of near mid-air collisions involving airline and general aviation aircraft …

Two Heads Are Better Than One: Single Pilot Operation Threatens The Safety Of The Friendly Skies, Alexandria E. Rook

Arkansas Law Review

Boeing’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (“MCAS”), an automated piloting system, is only supposed to handle aircraft operations in very specific circumstances. Despite devasting results with MCAS, Boeing has another automated piloting system on the horizon that poses even more grave risks: Single Pilot Operation (“SPO”). Boeing—along with Airbus—wants to replace one of the pilots in the cockpit of commercial airline flights with the new SPO technology it is developing. The FAA should not allow SPO technology to be implemented because it is premature, motivated by financial gain to the detriment of safety, and ignores the importance of professional judgment in …

Electronic On Planes: Security Measures And Avionics Disruption, Martin Jasek, Ivana Olivková

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Airlines have implemented various security measures to address the use of electronics on aircraft, focusing on telecommunication services, Bluetooth technology, and personal electronic devices (PEDs). This study evaluates 50 airlines using data from websites and safety videos to assess these technologies. While the integration of new technologies like in-flight Wi-Fi and Bluetooth offers passenger benefits, concerns persist about the potential electromagnetic interference with aircraft avionics. Early research by NASA and the FCC highlighted the risks, finding that devices like mobile phones could disrupt GPS signals during critical flight phases. Despite conflicting studies, ongoing monitoring is essential to balance passenger connectivity …

Overview Of Low-Cost Carriers In Russia And Post-Soviet States, Tamilla Curtis, Dawna L. Rhoades

Publications

The low-cost carrier's model made remarkable gains across the globe in the prior decade, although growth was uneven domestically and intraregionally. Within this region, there are significant differences in overall country size, the size of the domestic aviation market, and the number of carriers serving the market. The largest and most developed market is in Russia, but rest of the region also experienced growth in economy airlines' activity as they discovered the power of the model to expand aviation access and lower costs. The success of low-cost carriers, however, has been halting and hampered by government decisions on foreign investment, …

Optimization Of Organizational Design, Dyin Mabe, Guilherme Esmael, Manoel Burg, Patricia Soares, Leila Halawi

Publications

This study aims to present new techniques that airlines can use to gain efficiency through human resources allocation and keep up on track with the aviation industry’s challenging and constant- moving environment. The classical hierarchical structure that dominates most airlines today is not a prone environment for the proposed changes. The authors explore human resources optimization using the optimization software Lindo, mixed with Agile Methodology concepts and techniques. The authors also utilize evaluation score and talent mapping to develop a model for the best match between a Brazilian airline’s employees and tasks. The model considers productivity and cost.

Comparison Of Airline Co-Branded Credit Card Programs Via Frequent Flyer Money Saver Analysis For Full-Service U.S. Carriers, Bora Suavi Unsal

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Although airline alliances work fairly effectively for paid flight segments, passengers who want to redeem frequent flyer miles often encounter difficulties. Sometimes airlines demand an extensive amount of air miles to book requests for award seats to not only their partner airline customers but also their own customers. Furthermore, while the airline co-branded credit card award mile earnings and redemption rates fluctuate significantly between different airlines, passengers are not well informed about which airline co-branded credit card requires the minimum amount of credit card expenditure to fly with an award ticket to their desired travel destination.

A more useful and …

Service Quality And Passenger Satisfaction In Air Transportation In A Developing Economy: Evidence From Nigeria, Obioma R. Nwaogbe, Innocent C. Ogwude, Ejem E. A, A Pius

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

This study investigates the quality of service provided for air travel in Nigeria and the level of satisfaction of passengers with the service encountered. It does so by focusing on both the airports and the airlines as service providers. In that way, the study captures much of the effects of the organizational culture, employee behavior, and general norms which influence passenger attitudes. The SERVQUAL model was used in measuring the five dimensions of service. Domestic travel only was studied, with data obtained from well-structured questionnaires to evaluate perception–expectation gaps in airports as well as in airlines. The overall gap score …

The Impact Of Uas On The Passenger Airline Industry, Matthew Whitten

Senior Honors Theses

This study seeks to cover the state of modern autonomous unmanned aerial systems (UAS) integration into commercial aviation, the future applications of the technology in the airline industry, and the roadblocks currently hindering its integration into passenger operations. Although great advancements are being made in the field, technological developments, economic impact, legal restrictions, airline cost, and public perception stand in the way of the full adaptation of autonomous technology into everyday passenger operations. However, technology is rapidly developing, perhaps allowing for the possibility of autonomous air travel even today, but there are likely years of refinement before regulators, executives, and …

Optimization Of A Customized Leadership Development Program Upskilling English Language Fluency In Brazil Aviation Leaders, Robin A. Roberts

Publications

Objective: The present study explored how a customized leadership development program (LDP) with coursework taught in English to non-native English speakers could optimize English language fluency in Brazil airline leaders.

Background: Currently, problems exist with a myriad of native language accents and phraseology interfering with cognitive reflexes especially for aircrews and air traffic controllers to safely do their work. Executives from four Brazilian airlines proactively implemented a 14-month LDP focused on English language fluency and leadership enhancements collectively for leaders within their firms.

Method: Blended learning as proposed by the International Civil Aviation Organization provided the experiential …

Methodologies And Techniques For Determining The Value Of An Aircraft, Bijan Vasigh, Farshid Azadian, Kamran Moghaddam

Publications

Aircraft valuation and the estimation of an accurate aircraft price is undoubtedly a challenging task that has significant consequences for airlines. This paper presents an asset valuation model to show how a series of endogenous as well as exogenous factors can influence the value of an aircraft. Specifically, a discounted cash flow methodology is used to forecast the valuation of an old or new generation aircraft. Both total operating revenue and aircraft operating costs are taken into account to devise a reliable pre-tax profit measurement that is used as the basis of the discounted cash flow analysis. A sensitivity analysis …

Simulation Analysis Of The Effects Of Performance-Based Navigation On Fuel And Block Time Efficiency, Shlok Misra

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The commercial aviation industry has been grown steadily in the past decade in terms of the number of flights operated and passengers traveled. The Federal Aviation Administration has introduced several technologies and initiatives under the NextGen Program. Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) is one such technology that is aimed at improving the efficiency of the National Airspace System which will improve system capacity and reduce delays. The airlines operate with restrained resources and investments into reducing fuel costs and flight times will directly or indirectly impact profit margins. PBN procedures and routes can help airlines reduce block times as flights will be …

Automated Disruption Assistance In Brazil, Christian Gruber Delamare, Douglas Cabrera Lopes, Patrice Ramos, Raioni De Oliveira Santos, Leila Halawi

Publications

During the last decade, commercial aviation in Brazil has grown significantly, overcoming the number of 100 million passengers per year. The full operation represents a challenge for the air carriers, especially during flight disruptions. Besides the re-accommodation of the passengers into other flights, under certain circumstances, the ANAC 400 resolution requires the airlines to provide a series of material assistance. Meal, transport, and hotel make part of the exigences stated by the ANAC 400. Our study aims to analyze the current process that is mainly manual and propose to automatize several steps through a self-service solution. The researchers verified the …

Brand Awareness, Purchase Intention And Price Premium Of International Airlines Operating Between Australia And The United Kingdom, Yi Gao, Nigel Wai Keong Choy

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Brand equity has a profound impact on the pricing and sales of consumer products and services. Inspired by existing literature on customer-based brand equity in various domains, this study examines brand awareness (a dimension of brand equity), purchase intention and price premium of international airlines operating on a specific aviation market, Australia - the United Kingdom. Through surveying a sample of 259 participants in the metropolitan Melbourne area, the study captures a snapshot of brand recognition and brand preference of international airlines among local travelers. Statistically significant association is found between brand awareness and purchase intention, and between brand awareness …

Evaluation Of Airline Efficiency And Environmental Impacts Using Data Envelopment Analysis, Arun Paul Saini

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Airline efficiency has been a focus of research since the birth of the airline industry. Data envelopment analysis has become a highly accepted methodology for performing efficiency analysis and assessing relative differences between comparable business entities; over the last decade, airline efficiency research has proliferated into this linear programming domain. While early airline efficiency research focused primarily on revenue generation and profitability, growing commercial social responsibility is driving greater investment into understanding and improving the environmental impact of airline operations. This study is intended to partially fill a gap in exigent literature. While limited data envelopment analysis including environmental impacts …

Determination Of Factors That Influence Passengers’ Airline Selection: A Study Of Low Cost Carriers In Thailand, Thapanat Buaphiban

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This research examined the factors that influenced the airline selection of Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) in Thailand. The research was justified based on the rapid growth of LCC travel in Thailand, particularly in domestic and regional travel. There is a relative lack of successful explanation of the choice of LCCs in Thailand, with only a few studies addressing topics like passenger satisfaction and perceptions of service quality. Following an extensive literature review, the author used a theoretical framework based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991) in order to explain passenger behavioral intentions. This framework was supplemented by …

A Descriptive Analysis Of Public Comments Submitted In Response To Notice Of Proposed Rules On Air Carrier Pilot Qualification, Amy Chaffee Doolittle

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

In 2009, the crash of Colgan Flight 3407 in Buffalo, NY raised concerns regarding the adequacy of current pilot qualification standards for entering air carrier operations. In response, the U.S. Congress enacted Public Law 111-216, which requires a pilot to hold an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate in order to be qualified as a flight crewmember under 14 CFR, part 121, and also allows the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to modify the requirements to obtain an ATP certificate. In February 2012, the FAA issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) outlining these requirements and calling for public comments on the …

A Simulation Approach To Airline Cost Benefit Analysis, Massoud Bazargan, David Lange, Luyen Tran, Zhiyuan Zhou

Management, Marketing and Operations - Daytona Beach

In this paper we conduct a cost benefit analyses using simulation for an Airline. This study pertains to using Towbarless Towing Vehicles (commonly referred to as supertugs) to transport aircraft to and from the terminal to airline’s maintenance hangar facility at their hub. This study attempts to investigate the possibility of reducing costs through saving jet fuel by adopting supertugs and identify if their high purchasing costs are justified. This study adopts simulation to analyze the annual savings by studying the numbers needed, as well as the utilization and operation cost for these supertugs. The results are very encouraging, enabling …

Analysis Of Effects Of Financial Factors On Profitability Of Low-Cost And Legacy Carriers, Nicholas Joseph Kleoppel

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Since airline deregulation in 1978, there have been over 180 bankruptcy filings by airlines. Legacy and Low-Cost carriers are unique in how they operate and how they generate revenue; both business models have advantages and disadvantages. However, the Low-Cost carriers have shown increases in revenue and have been growing at increasing rates over the Legacy carriers. This study analyzed financial factors from four airlines in each business model to reveal which financial factors can help determine profitability of an airline. This researcher found significant differences between Legacy and Low-Cost Passenger Revenues, Maintenance Expenses, and Depreciation and Amortization Expenses. Additionally, there …

An Overview Of The Low-Cost Carrier Model In The Russian Market, Tamilla Curtis, Dawna L. Rhoades

Publications

This study provides an overview of the low-cost carrier (LCC) model in the Russian market. The LCC model seeks to achieve a competitive advantage through the reduction of operating costs, below the traditional airline model. Since Russia is an emerging and developing economy, airlines face a high level of uncertainty. Despite the fact that the Russian aviation market is dominated by a few large carriers, Russian lowcost airlines such as SkyExpress and Avianova have been growing rapidly since starting their operations. While Russian LCCs follow the traditional LCC model, some differences are apparent as a result of the specifics of …

An Airline Ab Initio Flight Training Program In The United Arab Emirates (Uae): An Analytical Approach Toward Emiratization, Shareef A. K. Al-Romaithi

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

The continuous establishment and expansion of UAE airlines has led to a demand for qualified pilots in the region of the Persian Gulf. The shortage of UAE national pilots has compelled the local airlines to employ pilots with foreign nationalities. Though the UAE government has implemented a program within the Emirates to increase the number of nationals in the work force (referred to as Emiratization), there has been little headway within the aviation sector. As a result, this thesis was undertaken to develop an ab initio training program that would increase the percentage of UAE nationals among the UAE airline …

Mobile Business As Strategic Tools In The Us Airline Industry, Marzel Stratmann

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

This thesis analyzes opportunities and threats of mobile business in the context of the US airline industry as a strategic tool to create a sustainable competitive advantage through the implementation of an effective mobile business model. The analysis is based on the assumption that mobile airline strategies have to create a strategic fit with the business environment seen from an airline perspective. Forces inherent in the global environment as well as in the micro-environment are analyzed using environmental scanning as systematic technique. Exploratory data obtained from a focus group interview is added to the analysis in order to assess opportunities …

Transitory Forecasting Methodology: Passenger/Revenue Share And Capacity Share (The S-Curve), Marlene Marie Dugan

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore the relationship between a carrier's service/capacity share and passenger share to determine the presence of the s-curve. The author is unaware of a current, accepted analysis for understanding the s-curve with any degree of reliability. Regression analysis was used to correlate service/capacity share against passenger share for domestic, United States air carriers. Carrier ranking was then added as a predicting variable to gain further insight into the correlation between service share and passenger share. It is anticipated that this study will be beneficial to airline network planners in their analysis of …

Culture And The Management Of Advanced Automation: An Analysis Of Two Airlines, Surendra Cudah Ratwatte

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between National, Organizational and Professional Cultures and the attitudes toward managing advanced automation among the flightcrew of two international airlines. The Flight Management Attitudes Questionnaire developed by the University of Texas was utilized to determine the attitudes and perceptions held by airline pilots of various nationalities who fly late model Airbus and Boeing airliners. A census survey was conducted at the crew bases of the two airlines, one in the Middle East and other in South Asia. A total of 230 completed surveys were received. Chi Square analysis was used …

An Optimization Technique Of Airlines' Seat Inventory Management, Husam Abdallah Mahmoud Fanasheh

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

This study consisted of a simulation to maximize an airline's Origin- Destination revenues. It has been hypothesized that Linear Programming is capable of maximizing airlines' networks revenues. Simulation was performed with Linear Interactive Discrete Optimizer (LINDO). This project was designed to consider different fares and its classes along with multi flight connections. The seats' allocation process came out with the maximum possible revenues, and enough flexibility in terms of changing such allocation to work around competition and trends. Results came supportive to the hypothesis. Sensitivity analysis provided our model with a tool to modify and change different variables, like fares, …

Passenger Knowledge Of Airline Safety Icons: A Cultural Study, Bridget L. Mattingly

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Japanese, Korean, and American cultures in their ability to comprehend icons used in airline passenger safety information. The 116 subjects were outbound international airline passengers traveling from San Francisco International Airport to either Japan or Korea. The instrument used contained thirteen icons similar to those on current passenger safety briefing cards. Subjects were asked to identify the icons as accurately as possible. Answers were graded on a three point ordinal scale, and frequency data were obtained. To test for significant differences between cultures, the data were analyzed through use …

The Use Of Electronic Ticketing - A Case Study, Olav C. Unger

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

This thesis will look at the impact of electronic ticketing travel on the behavior and acceptance trends by airline customers, its effects on revenue generation and cost-cutting opportunities, and the implications in the established transaction flow processes. This form of ticketing is becoming increasingly popular among U.S. and European airlines due to the reduced costs in different areas of passenger and transaction flow handling when compared to the current paper-based ticketing method. While at first glance this new ticketing technology application seems like a move in the right direction for airlines, there is no evidence as to the views from …

Cost Competitiveness Of Airlines: An International Comparison, Tae Oum, Chunyan Yu

Publications

Significant structural, institutional and regulatory changes have occurred in the airline industry since the mid-1980s. These changes have intensified competition in both domestic and international air transport market. As the market becomes more competitive, the ultimate ability of a carrier to survive and prosper depends greatly on its cost competitiveness. This paper measures and compares the unit cost competitiveness of the world's major airlines, using the yearly panel data of 23 major airlines over the 1986-93 period. We focus our analysis on identifying the potential factors which influence the observed unit cost differentials among airlines, including input prices, productivity, network …

Usair: Balancing Terminal Facilities And Runway Capacity At Pittsburgh, Edward J. Mattern

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

As a result of expansion and acquisition, USAir has experienced major growth in flight operations. In an effort to accommodate this expansion, a major construction project, called the Midfield Terminal project, is underway at USAir's major hub, Greater Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT). The Midfield Terminal will result in a 60 percent increase in gate capacity for USAir and lower operating costs due to its location. However, increased gates infer increased flight frequencies. PIT already operates near capacity during peak periods and runway expansion has only been discussed. This paper evaluates the conditions of USAir at PIT with regard to the …