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Knowledge‐based techniques can enhance the effectiveness of mathematical methods. Here the application of artificial intelligence approaches to freight transportation planning is examined.

Strategic Management/General Management.

MBA/Executive MBA.

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) was incorporated in 1937 to operate in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang. The first period of crisis was witnessed in 1997/1998 due to the Asian Financial Crisis, MAS reported RM 260 million in losses. The airline recovered from the loss and reported profit of RM 461 million in 2004. However, it experienced another loss of RM 1.25 billion in 2005. This lead to implementation of the Business Turnaround Plan 1 in 2006. The Business Transformation Plan 2 was announced in 2008, but the period of losses hit the airline again in 2011. Overall, MAS has witnessed continuous cycle of losses and profits. Despite the turnaround efforts, the airline does not seem to be recovering; is there a safe landing for the troubled airlines?

The case can be used to illustrate economics and complexities of aviation industry, different business models existing in airline industry, quantitative and qualitative aspects of a turnaround strategy, failure to sustain turnaround efforts, and predicting the future scope for a player in airline industry.

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In their respective market outlooks, both Boeing and Airbus forecast strong growth in intercontinental passenger traffic until 2029. However, they differ substantially with respect to their assessment of the future development of airline (and alliance) networks. These deviating projections have, in turn, massively influenced their product range. Boeing, having long predicted a major growth in intercontinental point-to-point operations – based on the so-called fragmentation (dehubbing) hypothesis – has consistently opted for the development of the B787 (Dreamliner) family of midsized, and extremely efficient, wide-body aircraft. Airbus, on the contrary, is forecasting a substantial increasing demand for hub-to-hub traffic, which according to the company, will require airlines to purchase a large number of very large aircraft (VLA), especially its Airbus 380. Though both manufacturers did not put all their money where their mouths are – Boeing has reacted to the Airbus 380 challenge with an updated derivative of its Boeing 747 flagship, the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental, while Airbus is targeting its proposed Airbus 350 family against both the Boeing 787 and Boeing 777 – the fragmentation hypothesis remains one of the most controversial issues in the civil aviation community today. Regardless of which scenario will eventually turn out to be more realistic, either will impact tremendously on aircraft manufacturers, on the airlines' route and fleet planning decisions as well as airport operators.

The purpose of this paper is to test the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) for improving track and trace of the luggage handling process and to determine potential decreases in operational costs of airports, namely through reduced baggage sorting expenses.

An experiment was designed to test the feasibility of implementing a RFID‐based tracking system and to determine the practicality and the technical hurdles which must be addressed.

RFID‐optimized airline value chains can improve efficiencies through adaptive load planning, whereby luggage can be loaded onto aircraft based on final destination and reduce manual sorting.

The experiment was tested in a small regional airport.

RFID allows for synchronous communication through the value chain, enabling airlines to proactively determine if departing aircraft contain the appropriately checked luggage.

As customers become more price elastic, the firm must improve its abilities to meet the travel flexibility requirement and provide value added services to customers. RFID can expedite value chains by removing human induced variability and manual sorting, while improving accuracy and providing a heightened awareness of the logistics system.

In this article, I propose a theory of network opportunity emergence. The core of the argument is that as an overall industry network structure becomes centralized, opportunities emerge for new entrants. As the institutional environment evolves toward a centralized network flow structure, innovators can identify newly emerged rich resource niches that serve as the perfect breeding ground for an entrepreneurial start-up. While the framework is an aggregate level conceptualization of market opportunities, it also identifies specific actionable opportunities at a very micro level. Examples from the networks of the airline industry illustrate the logic. I conclude by discussing the innovation and entrepreneurship implications for a wide variety of industries and network tie types, calling for utilization of the framework to answer a broad variety of research questions.

The purpose of this study is to locally develop low-cost wireless mesh networks for reliable data communications to devices that prevent the theft of these devices in learning institutions of South Africa.

A network test-bench was developed where millions of packets were transmitted and logged between interconnected nodes to analyze the quality of the network’s service in a harsh indoor building environment. Similar methodologies in “big data” analysis as found in particle physics were adopted to analyze the network’s performance and reliability.

The results from statistical analysis reveal the quality of service between multiple asynchronous transmitting nodes in the network and compared with the wireless technology routing protocol to assess coverage in large geographical areas. The mesh network provides stable data communications between nodes with the exception of reliability degradation in some multi-hopping routes. Conclusions are presented to determine whether the underlining mesh network technology will be deployed to protect devices against theft in educational institutions of South Africa.

The anti-theft application will focus on proprietary firmware development with a reputable tablet manufacturer to render the device inoperable. Data communications of devices to the network will be monitored and controlled from a central management system. The electronics embedding the system-on-chip will be redesigned and developed using the guidelines stipulated by the chip manufacturer.

Design and development of low-cost wireless mesh networks to protect tablets against theft in institutions of digitized learning. The work presents performance and reliability metrics of a low-power wireless mesh wireless technology developed in a harsh indoor building environment.

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, Boeing and Airbus, the leading manufacturers of large aircraft, were locked in a battle for market share that drove down prices for their new planes. At about the same time, the two industry heavyweights began developing new aircraft families to address the future market needs they each projected.

Aircraft take many years to develop, so by the time the new planes made their inaugural flights, significant changes had occurred in the global environment. First, emerging economies in the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere were growing rapidly, spawning immediate and long-term demand for more aircraft. At the same time, changes to the market for air travel had created opportunities for new products. These opportunities had not gone unnoticed by potential new entrants, which were positioning themselves to compete against the market leaders.

In October 2007, the Airbus superjumbo A380 made its first flight. The A380 carried more passengers than any other plane in history and had been touted as a solution to increased congestion at global mega-hub airports. Four years later the Boeing 787, a smaller long-range aircraft, was launched to service secondary cities in a point-to-point network.

The case provides students with an opportunity to analyze the profit potential of the global aircraft manufacturing industry in 2002 and in 2011. Students can also identify the actions of participants that weakened or intensified the pressure on profits within the industry.

Audio format (.mp3 file) available with purchase of PDF. Contact cases@kellogg.northwestern.edu for access.

Research carried out within the scope of the present new emerging optimum market to Greek regional airlines. This study (based on interconnected flight network) aims to provide an optimal alternative for flights to be carried out by small Greek airlines to Eskisehir Airport in Turkey. The airlines seek to sustainable demand base to improve themselves in a profitable way.

In this study, the analytical network process method was used. In the construction of network models, specific criteria have been considered, and the analysis has been accomplished as multi-criteria decision-making problem because of the relationship and interaction between them. A number of professionals with high knowledge of the Greek and Turkish aviation market were participated in the study.

Both Greek and Turkish experts think that the scenarios should include more airports (multi leg flights) to benefit from the increased traffic from all these destinations. Although, the model showed that more sustainable and effective routes are the simplest ones (single leg flights). Thus, the experts suggested the following five routes: Athens (ATH)-Antalya (AYT)-Eskisehir (AOE)-ATH; Heraklion (HER)-AOE-ATH; ATH-Istanbul (IST)-AOE-Thessaloniki (SKG); ATH-AOE-Cologne (CGN)-ATH and ATH-AOE-Izmir (ADB)-CGN-ATH. In addition, the experts pointed out the routes Eskisehir (AOE)-Brussel (BRU) and AOE-Cologne (CGN), as the passenger demand for them is high. These are considerable suggestions and should be examined by airlines’ managers, while aviation authorities should take these under consideration.

There are some factors that limit the potential extension of the small Greek regional airlines to Eskisehir airport. Istanbul’s Atatürk International Airport is the most used airport for international connected flight in Turkey, and the most airlines prefer this as a destination airport, although it has slots limitations and intense traffic. According to a previous project, sustainable flight network may include Istanbul and Izmir. Also, the bilateral agreement between Greece and Turkey according to Memorandum of Understanding between the Aeronautical Authorities of the Republic of Turkey and Hellenic Republic consists the main limitation of the traffic increase.

Connected flight network model suggestions developed in this research may provide contribution to airlines’ research and development activities. Also this kind of studies may contribute to the increase of the passengers’ traffic between the two countries with mutual benefits.

Based on the current study, with determined the grid network flights, new flights can be scheduled that are offering significant benefits. Also passengers will have the ability to travel to an attractive destination. In particular, the study may positively contribute to the further development of AOE and to the region around the city. On the other side, the Greek regional airlines can find an important market. Anadolu University’s entrepreneurship ability will be improved and also AOE’s business will be increased. This study will enforce the stronger links between both Greek [Hellenic (Greek) Civil Aviation Authority] and Turkish (General Directorate of Civil Aviation) aviation authorities. In addition, this study may contribute to the improvement of the economic relations between Greece and Turkey with mutual benefits.

It is thought that this research shows Greek and Turkish airports feasibility to cooperate providing benefits to passengers, airlines and the countries’ economies. The study includes current social, economic and cultural dynamics of the countries making significant contribution to academic literature. The capacity and demand analysis is useful for the management of the specific Greek carriers. Expert opinions are consulted over the course of taking strategic decisions. The analysis has been conducted, based on expert opinions and referred to for these pairwise comparisons. Airlines and airport managers based on the suggested methodology may examine potential flights, although more numerical data are necessary.

Deregulation of domestic markets and the liberalization of international markets have dramatically changed air transportation. One of the important results of this change is the environmental effects of air transportation. This study aims to examine the implications of air transportation on environmental sustainability in the context of airline business strategies in liberalized and globalized air transport industry.

The paper discusses the relationship between liberalization, airline strategies and environmental sustainability of air transportation using the related literature. Then, to show some environmental impacts on the axis of the relationship discussed, emission rates for the aircraft landing and take-off phase were calculated on a global basis based on the aircraft traffic.

The discussion in the paper shows that the liberalization policies and the strategies of airlines supported by these policies, in essence, contradict the environmental sustainability of air transport. Considering the flight share projections of EUROCONTROL for different aircraft types on a global basis and the World Bank’s global flight traffic forecast for the years 2016 and 2025, it has been demonstrated that the number of aircraft departures will increase by 30%, whilst the number of aircraft emissions will increase by 41.5%.

Airlines are one of the main actors that will play a role in reducing the environmental impacts of air transportation. Therefore, this study is important in giving an idea to both policymakers and airline managers on how airline companies’ strategies should be shaped to realize both corporate sustainability and environmentally sustainable air transportation.

There are many studies in the literature regarding the environmental effects of air transport. However, there are not many studies linking environmental impacts with airline strategies that directly affect air transport demand. This study is different in that it gives environmental sustainability by associating it with its root causes.

Strategic management and marketing.

Executive education; postgraduate; undergraduate.

By 2004, the low-cost carrier model had just recently been introduced to Southeast Asia. Airlines under this model quickly began taking market share. Singapore's first budget carrier, Valuair, finds itself in fierce competition between two rapidly emerging competitors in the second half of 2004. Valuair needs to expand in order to remain competitive. However, for this to happen the company needs additional access to capital. The CEO, Sim Kay Wee, has begun pitching to investors that his company is a smart low-risk investment. Is Sim right, given Valuair's competitive position and the market environment in which it operates?

Students will be able to apply strategic frameworks in order to develop an understanding of Valuair's market position and use this understanding to advice investment decisions.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or e-mail support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.