The Economics Of Airport Operations

This volume examines the role that airports play in economic development and land values, the regulation and economic efficiency of airports, airport pricing and competition, and the role played by airports in influencing airline operations and networks.

Foundations of Airport Economics and Finance analyzes the impact key economic indicators play on an airport's financial performance. As rapidly changing dynamics, including liberalization, commercialization and globalization are changing the nature of airports worldwide, this book presents the significant challenges facing current and future airports. Airports are evolving from quasi-monopolies to commercial companies operating in a global environment, with ever-increasing passenger and cargo volumes and escalating security costs that put a greater strain on airport systems. This book highlights the critical changes that airports are experiencing, providing a basic understanding of both the economic and financial aspects of the air transport industry. Identifies the economic roots of airport financial performance and how the interplay of its major parameters affects profitability Bridges the gap between the latest airport academic research and real-world airport financial management Covers cases and scenarios of numerous airports from around the world Includes learning aids, such as chapter introductions and summaries, glossary and appendices

This book provides a comprehensive guide to the economics of airports for all managers, regulators and educators within the aviation industry. Written by three renowned experts but made accessible and relevant for all those working within the industry, or aspiring to do so, it is the perfect entry point for learning about the underlying economics of airports as a crucial component of the air transport system. It explains the cost structures of airports and then relates these to how airports determine their charges. It explains how charges at different airports vary, whether this is due to different types of traffic, different input prices, ways of producing outputs or different levels of efficiency. Most airports are publicly owned or regulated, and there has been a trend towards privatisation. The book explains how airports have been regulated and assesses how well the regulatory structures have performed; it discusses the trend towards light-handed regulation and the reliance on competition where this exists. The book examines the problems of limited capacity at airports and how these are resolved through slots and charging systems, and the long-term solution of investment in airports—why it is controversial, and how it can be achieved effectively. It also considers the environmental impacts of airports and the issues these pose for managers, from the well-known problems of airport noise to the growing recognition of the impacts of air transport on climate change, and the roles airports play in mitigating these consequences. Written for airport and airline managers, regulators and students, this book will suit Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes on air transport management.

This tour d'horizon book reviews airport regulation and competition in different regions of the world and contrasts different policy perspectives. Organized in four parts, the first three examine, in turn, Australasia, North America, and Europe, while the last section looks at the institutional reforms that have taken place in these regions. The book covers the regulation of airports, and competition in different regions, as well as privatization policy, the interaction between airports and airlines, and regional economic impacts. It also examines the linkages between governance structures and forms of regulation. The book's global sweep embraces all the large aviation markets, bringing together the ideas and challenges of academic economists, airlines, airport managers, consultants and government regulators. As well as looking at different methods, degrees and paradigms of regulation it also spells out the stress-points, in a way that makes essential reading for airport operators, airline operations staff, as well as academic economists concerned with transport studies. It also offers interesting reading and important lessons for those concerned with regulation of the utility industries such as, telecommunications, water and power generation and distribution - where infrastructure can be subject to natural monopoly characteristics and where firms competing in downstream markets are dependent on the investment and operational strategies of the upstream infrastructure operator.

Starting from the premise that airports can be run as commercial successes, The Airport Business aims to place the business as a whole within a conceptual framework. The author examines the major issues facing airports throughout the world, and offers an insight into how to deal with the major economic and financial difficulties that are likely to arise in the next decade.

Traditionally, air transport infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) was exclusively under government ownership and management. Starting in the late 1990s, several Latin American countries implemented innovative public-private partnerships (PPP) that transferred the financing and management of air transport sector infrastructure to the private sector. This book presents the findings of a first-ever, comprehensive study of how LAC region airports have evolved during this notable period of transition in airport ownership. It is an unbiased, positive analysis of what happened, rather than a normative analysis of what should be done to reform the airport sector or to attract private participation. It takes the first step in response to the need for more conclusive information about the influence of airport ownership on economic performance. The book is centered around the study of three dimensions of performance: productive efficiency, institutional set up for the governance of the sector, and financing of airport PPPs. Using rigorous analytical tools, this book answer a series of key questions to evaluate the introduction of private sector participation in the Latin American airport sector: Are LAC airports technically efficient? How has efficiency evolved in the last decade? Are privately-run airports more efficient than state-operated airports? How do independent regulators compare with government agencies in accountability, transparency, and autonomy? How has the level and structure of aeronautical tariffs changed in recent years? The main audience of this book are air transport practitioners, transport regulators, decisionmakers in transport ministries, and PPP units and academics.