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This study investigates, both theoretically and empirically, the effects of joint ventures on traffic. Although alliances are a pre-condition for joint ventures, both cooperation agreements are different in their nature. The reason is that alliances are revenue-sharing agreements, whereas joint ventures also involve a cost-sharing commitment. Our empirical analysis focuses on the transatlantic market, including non-stop routings (interhub markets) and one-stopover routings (interline markets). Our theoretical and empirical findings emphasize the relevance of economies of traffic density and reveal a positive effect of joint ventures on traffic, both in interhub and interline markets.

Alaska is the largest state by land area in the United States. It is also the most diverse in its climate and topography. This chapter will examine the geographic and operational features that make Alaska a unique environment for air cargo logistics. Some of these features sustain its competitive advantage in international air cargo activity. In particular, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) is a major air cargo gateway for Asia trade with the contiguous United States. An overview of the airport's exclusive air cargo transfer operations will be discussed. Alaska is also one of the least populous states, with about half of the population living in and around the Anchorage area. Due to this, towns and villages ranging from the temperate Alaska Panhandle to well above the Arctic Circle remain dependent on commercial air cargo activity. The federal air cargo program known as Alaska Bypass will be examined as remaining both unique and necessary for the state's socio-economic development.

Competition had traditionally been highly intense in the airline sector, forcing airlines to continually foster collaborative practices. Although Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) had always been the backbone of any airline collaborative practice, research investigating the role of ICT in supporting collaboration had been solely concentrated on Global Distribution Systems (GDS) and their impact on marketing practices. In this vein, the importance of GDS to support streamlined supply chains in the airline sector has been neglected. This paper aims to show how the functionality and core competences of GDS are exploited to facilitate collaborative supply chain management and enhance airlines’ competitiveness.

There is a strong academic and professional interest in the changing business model of LCCs in Europe. Recently, even Ryanair which is often considered a European LCC role model has departed from the point-to-point paradigm by offering transfers within its own network. We first provide a general overview of recent changes in the business model of airlines that used to be categorized as LCCs. We then add to existing studies on LCC network strategies toward building connections. While we distinguish different approaches to accommodate transfer passengers, our analysis focuses on mesh networks as an airline network topology other than hub-and-spoke networks to provide online connections. A schedule analysis of Ryanair’s direct and indirect services at its base at Porto airport exemplifies that a mesh network might allow LCCs to go beyond stand-alone operations to become network carriers without requiring a complete transition of the generic LCC business strategy.

The connectivity provided by full-service network carriers under the umbrella of airline alliances is increasingly challenged by the services of Middle Eastern airlines via their own hubs, and the rise of new passenger strategies like self-connectivity. While these two developments can potentially benefit consumers with more services and lower fares, the rise of Middle East carriers has been met with opposition by EU and US airlines that call for increased protectionism. In addition, only a few airports in the world actively support self-connections. In this context, this study aims to investigate (1) the markets in which Middle East carriers exert a stronger dominance in terms of the number of passenger connections, (2) whether EU, US, or Asian hubs provide a competitive quality of connectivity in terms of travel time, and (3) whether a significant potential for self-connections is hidden at major airports worldwide. To that end, several datasets of passenger bookings (MIDT), airline schedules, and minimum connecting times between 2012 and 2015 are combined in a connections-building methodology that delivers six market-specific airport connectivity indicators for our benchmarking exercise. Our findings show that although European and some Asian hubs have lost traffic in global markets, they remain competitive from a quality perspective. US hubs have maintained their market share and competitive position. Finally, we identify the airports and airlines with the highest potential to provide self-connecting travel options, which can become an attractive new source of revenue for the parties involved.