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Based on our experience related to the passenger terminal re-design at Sydney airport and its impact on belly-hold freight chains at the airport, this chapter takes a more general view on managing freight chains at large international airports. We aim to review literature and documents related to this area and also to undertake a fleet/traffic analysis of the 100 largest multi-function airports (when measured in terms of scheduled cargo traffic) to get a better understanding of current practice, particularly in the light of potential conflicts or benefits of the joint production of passenger and freight services. While most literature has focused on hub-and-spoke aspects of international hubs, relatively little has been done on economies of scale and scope of passenger and freight airline operations (including timing) at such hubs. This chapter explores to what extent terminal organisation of international airports impacts on the use of dedicated freighter of combination airlines and hence airline efficiency. A key finding in terms of airline efficiency is that economies of scale of air cargo operation appear to exist at the aircraft level as dedicated freighters are used more often if a sufficient threshold of air freight demand is observed at the airport level.

This study aims to examine how the just‐in‐time (JIT) principles can be adopted for the air travel industry with specific emphasis on the management and operations of terminal buildings in airports.

Three methods were adopted for the empirical part of this study. These included the observational walk‐through, interviews and survey questionnaires conducted in the Changi International Airport in Singapore. The evaluation for JIT application, as part of a larger study, includes the points of arrival and departure, the check‐in hall, immigration area, transit mall, gate lounges, food and beverage outlets, retail shops as well as other management initiatives that strive for continuous improvement. This paper focuses only on the check‐in hall.

Japanese businesses have been able to compete successfully in the world market in recent decades because of their total dedication to quality and productivity issues. This has been made possible in part by the guiding principles of the JIT concept which many Japanese businesses subscribed to. The JIT principles include waste elimination, pull production system, uninterrupted work flow, total quality control, top management commitment, employee involvement, long term working relationships with suppliers and continuous improvement. The JIT concept was specifically examined in this study in the context of the Changi International Airport through its planning processes and existing operations. The study was able to highlight the strengths as well as areas for potential improvements in the airport through the application of the seven JIT principles.

Beyond Japanese businesses, the JIT concept was also found to have benefited organizations in a wide range of industries including those relating to the built environment. The study covers major processes and procedures typical of the spatial management and operations of major airport terminal buildings which holds promising lessons for airport management worldwide.

The analysis shows significant potential in applying JIT principles for managing airport operations within the confines of the physical airport terminal buildings. It recommends that designers, project managers and asset managers should progress beyond the traditional “design follows functions” approach to adopt the more integrative “design follows JIT‐driven functions” approach.

Travelers are both surrounded by and perform places, thus making places ambiguous sites that “come alive” when travelers use them and engage in various performances. A place many travelers pass through is the airport. Airports are places where travelers’ performances are restricted in many ways and waiting is a key element of the airport experience. This paper contributes with knowledge on what airport terminals “are”, not as designs or material objects but as places enacted by travelers. In doing so, the paper aims to emphasize on both how travelers “see” airports and how they use them.

The study uses different qualitative methods and notions of time and waiting. Sources of data are small-scale netnography, focus group interviews, observations done at airports and qualitative interviews.

The study shows that airport terminals are heterogeneously enacted environments that are heavily inscribed with the mundane act of waiting and travelers use a series of different strategies to “use”, “spend” and “kill” time. Furthermore, whereas more affluent travelers spend waiting time using airports’ commercial offerings (shopping, restaurants, bars, etc.), less affluent travelers do not have the same options.

The research points to airport terminals as not only “places of movement and mobility” but also “places of waiting” inscribed with boredom and travelers actively fight boredom by spending, using and killing time in a variety of ways. Furthermore, the study points to significant differences between affluent travelers and other travelers and differences between people travelling alone and in groups. Therefore, a call is made for research focusing on less affluent travelers, people traveling in groups and on waiting and waiting time.

The study suggests that airports are more than consumerscapes and places of movement, hereby questioning the current focus on commercial revenues.

The study points to airport space as space “inhabited” not only by travelers willingly taking on the roles as consumers but also by travelers that kill, spend and use waiting time in other ways, hereby questioning the idea that airports are places for the “elite”.

Travelers associate airports with boredom and inscribe them with waiting. However, travelers “fight” boredom and waiting with performances and acts designed to use, spend, pass and “kill” time. Hereby, travelers not only accept but also construct the seemingly mundane act of waiting as restricted, negotiated and confined, but nevertheless meaningful performances.

This paper evaluates and assesses the competitiveness of airports by analyzing the efficiency of those in Northeast Asia. This research implemented Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to compare the competitiveness of airport efficiency and Decision Making Unit (DMU), which was selected by the top ranking freight operations among the airports in this region. Due to the lack of previous research with regard to the competitiveness of hub concentrated airports in air cargo volume, the variables have been screened for selection through referential documents and records related to air freight. Finally, aviation freight experts assisted in the final selection of the relevant variables for this research. The result of the analysis show that the larger airports in Northeast Asia are positively correlated with higher efficiency. In contrast, inefficient airports have suffered from over capacity or insufficient input.

Assessing airport service performance requires understanding of all passenger processing and discretionary activities at airport passenger terminals – a need that has not yet been addressed in the research to date. This paper aims to address this shortcoming in evaluating overall airport service based on passenger experience from departure to arrival.

Comparative analysis over 40 airport models, including their indicators and configuration of service measures, was undertaken in a previous work to identify key-design requirements in assessing airport service performance based on passenger experience (Wiredja et al., 2015). Based on these requirements, this paper constitutes the development of a passenger-centred model covering all service areas from departure to arrival terminals. The newly developed model is then examined using factor and regression analyses by involving 215 airline passengers from 22 world’s international airports.

Overall service performance is understood as a function of combined sub-performances of two groups of airport domains: processing domains and non-processing domains. The overall result demonstrated that the two sets of service factors and their relevant attributes had significant impact on overall service performance at processing and non-processing domains.

The proposed model applies a set of dynamic performance measures that provide flexibility. These measures are adjustable depending on the needs. Adding or replacing measures defines the specificity of the domains and performances assessed. The model components can be modified in respective service attributes when passenger needs or priorities change. The only constant component is user-centred indicators (in this research, Passenger-centred indicators).

This research has generated new insights and knowledge that directly contribute to the assessment of airport service performance. The novelty of this research is the development of a passenger-centred approach in evaluating overall airport service based on passenger experience. This passenger-driven model provides a more integrated and robust approach in this field than previously available.

Airport design has improved significantly in the last 20 years. Design has moved from simple protection from the elements to almost full automation. Many older airport facilities are now outdated and require replacement. The decision to replace must be made based upon benchmarking with similar airport facilities. Summarises the current position with airport design and suggests that efficient use of facilities cannot depend upon shareholder return alone but must be based on national interest and efficiency demonstrated through external benchmarking. Suggests that facilities managers must be aware of the expectations of the airlines and passengers and the indicators used in the assessment of performance. Outlines the reasons that influence an airport’s decision to upgrade or replace its terminal facilities.

Commercial aviation continues to grow but few passenger or cargo journeys begin or end at airports. “Terminal” and “last” mile costs can place considerable drag on interregional trade in goods and services, attenuating growth and prosperity. The aerotropolis model provides a holistic framework for understanding – and addressing – trade costs. The central tenets of the aerotropolis model are outlined and extended by considering the decision to establish a new business facility. Implications are drawn for planning a competitive aerotropolis as the global economy enters a new era.

The purpose of the paper is to investigate issues associated with the application of international and national accounting and valuation standards to owner occupied property for financial reporting purposes.

The regulatory framework and relevant literature are reviewed and analysed in order to hypothesise a theoretical framework, comprising an order of classification and tests for application by valuers to owner occupied property. The hypothesised approach is then tested in principle for the valuation of airports and specifically for the valuation of a part building and underlying land.

While the hypothesised approach requires development through the proposition of further tests, it is found to be supported in application to both a part building, being the retailing area within an international terminal, and to the operational land underlying an airport.

The research provides a theoretical framework for the application of accounting and valuation standards to owner occupied property for financial reporting purposes and highlights limitations therein for further research.

The hypothesised approach provides valuers with a globally consistent theoretical framework for application to the valuation of owner occupied property for financial reporting purposes.

As airports grow and move from government ownership, the measurement of their value for financial statements becomes progressively more important if a robust basis for stakeholder decision making and the optimal allocation of capital is to be provided

The paper seeks to improve property appraisal, finance and investment skills by promoting awareness of new theories, applications and related concepts and their implications to market conditions in the context of airports.