Benefits to Airlines from Using High-Speed Train Services on Routes from a Hub Airport

By Moshe Givoni

The air transport industry does not seem to promote the idea of aircraft/train substitution. The airlines in particular do not do so, despite the fact that when rail infrastructure is provided at airports, airlines make use of that infrastructure. This article’s objective is to show that airlines can benefit from mode substitution, provided it is done as air/rail integration.

Air/Rail Intermodality: Recent Experiences from Germany

By Wolfgang Grimme

This article tries to explore recent developments in Germany, where an integrated intermodal product, the so-called AIRail, offers unique service features, like integrated ticketing and baggage handling, which is so far only known in the air transport industry. This article explores characteristics, advantages, shortcomings and challenges of AIRail.

Open Skies or Open Aviation Area? Prospects for the Aviation Relations between the European Union and the United States

By Yu-Chun Chang and Chia-Jui Hsu

Although the European Commission has been given a mandate to negotiate a trans-Atlantic deal with the United States, it is likely to take a long time for the EC and the US to discuss the issues of foreign ownership restrictions, cabotage and the rights of establishment. This article aims to provide a phased model approach for the European Union and the US to achieve the aviation agreements in the near future.

The Low Cost Model and Strategies for Taiwanese Airlines

By Cherie Lu, Szu-Yin Liu, and Shue-Ting Shen

The trend of low-cost carrier operations has travelled from the United States and Europe to Asia. The purpose of this research is to investigate various low-cost strategies that could be applied by Taiwanese airlines to increase their productivity and competitiveness in the market.

Airport Privatization: Success or Failure? The Airport Performance Scorecard – A Theoretical Assessment Tool

By Dorothea Zakrewski

This article proposes that the impact of airport privatization should be validated by analyzing airport performance through the eyes of stakeholders. The Balanced Scorecard approach is used as a managerial equivalent to stakeholder theory; the underpinning assumptions of stakeholder theory and performance measurement are interlinked to test the efficiency claims of privatization.

Competition versus Predation in Aviation Markets edited by Peter Forsyth, David W. Gillen, Otto G. Mayer and Hans-Martin Niemeier

Book review by Bram Kaashoek

The increased interest in Low Cost Carriers and their success in gaining market shares have put emphasis on the strategic behaviour of airline incumbents. The dynamics that come along with new entrants will lead to organizational behaviour to focus on under pricing and to prefer monopoly profits afterwards. At what point does a strategic reaction from the incumbent become predatory behaviour?

Deep Stall: The Turbulent Story of Boeing Commercial Airplanes by Philip K. Lawrence and David W. Thornton

Book review by Willem-Jan Zondag

At present, EADS / Airbus receive loads of media coverage focusing on the A380 delivery delays. However, it’s not so long time ago that the other aircraft manufacturing giant from the US seemed the ‘bad guy’. This book analyses Boeing’s recent struggles; its negligence of the ‘strategic value’ concept, and its response to the emergence and rising market power of Airbus Industry.