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The continued rise in e-commerce has contributed to recent growth of the air cargo industry. In addition, international demand for low volume-high value products as well as time-sensitive goods continues to enhance demand for air cargo services. This volume consists of 11 chapters exploring whether this transportation sector has positioned itself to successfully take advantage of the economic opportunities associated with changing global demand for goods and demand for timely transportation services. Areas of analysis cover costs and competitiveness, shipper services and air cargo demand, along with international competition and economic development. Employing various empirical techniques and theoretical perspectives, these chapters help the reader to understand the methods by which air cargo companies provide efficient and increasingly affordable services, and also how the use of these services enhances economic growth and development.

With an increasing air cargo demand in the global air cargo transport industry, not only domestic airlines but also foreign carriers are actively investing in the air cargo service sector and trying to provide a differentiated service in order to gain a competitive advantage. There are a variety of service quality models available but most research to date has not found an optimal model for the air cargo service sector.

Using questionnaire data collected from air freight forwarders in Korea with respect to the air cargo service provided by Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, and foreign carriers(JAL or China Eastern), this paper compares four models in measuring the service quality in the air cargo sector and identifies the best model. We then analyze the weakness of each airline’s service operation and make suggestions for improvement.

For demonstration analysis, the survey of domestic air cargo forwarders revealed that Reliability>Responsiveness> Supply ability>Security in important order in air cargo service quality dimension. In the context of this paper, we considered four models-unweighted SERVQUAL, unweighted SERVPERF, weighted SERVQUAL, and weighted SERVPERF–for our investigation into which is the most suitable model in the air cargo service sector with testing of goodness of fit by three criteria. Our results indicate that the most suitable model for the air cargo service sector is the weighted SERVPERF model.

This chapter investigates productivity and cost patterns in the all-cargo US air transport sector. We empirically test the productivity growth influence of changes in unexplained technology, air operations movement characteristics, and factor input prices. Findings show productivity trends depicting negative growth for the 1993–2001 sample, then shifting measurably such that productivity trends depict positive growth for the 2002–2014 sample. The post 2001 growth was fueled by changes in unexplained technological advancements. We interpret this finding as an indication of the importance of technological innovation as a performance enhancer in this transport sector. Findings also reveal a lack of productivity change associated with changes in input prices and movement characteristics. We interpret input price findings as indicating increases in factor input prices such as wages and fuel prices are commensurate with enhanced labor and fuel productivity. The movement characteristic findings are attributable to a lack of sustained increases in load factors, stage length, network size and carrying more volume over the network (density).

The increasing growth in global trade is promoting economic diversification through efficient air cargo logistics. The overdependence of Nigeria on mono-product export, mainly crude oil, hinder the successful implementation of economic diversification policy. However, air cargo export plays a significant role in any successful economic diversification policy. Despite the importance of air export of cargo to the economy, literature is scarce on the role of air cargo export in economic diversification studies. This chapter assesses the performance of air cargo export by highlighting its inherent opportunity to support economic diversification in Nigeria. The analysis draws on air cargo export data by volume, types, and airline market share in Nigeria. Regression analysis established a significant relationship between Nigeria's gross domestic product (GDP) and air cargo export. Johansen cointegration test showed that both short and long-run cointegration exists between air cargo and GDP in Nigeria. An increasing trend in Nigeria's air cargo export volume indicates the significance of air cargo export to support economic diversification policy in Nigeria. Airlines market shares have British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, and Saudi Air dominating the exportation of cargo in Nigeria. Agricultural products dominate the air cargo export with 34.6% volume, followed by manufacturing products (23.6%). An all-inclusive policy that promotes international trade for the economic emancipation of Nigeria through diversification into agriculture and manufacturing sectors is necessary.

“Cargo tariffs are agreed through the IATA machinery, and in theory approved by governments….the IATA Tarff Coordination Conferences still agree cargo tariffs on over 200,000 separate routes. But these tariffs bear little relevance to what is actually charged in the marketplace.” (Doganis, 2002)

“The stipulations ICAO standards contain never supersede the primacy of national regulatory requirements. It is always the local, national regulations which are enforced in, and by, sovereign states, and which must be legally adhered to by air operators making use of applicable airspace and airports……ICAO is therefore not an international aviation regulator, just as INTERPOL is not an international police force. We cannot arbitrarily close or restrict a country's airspace, shut down routes, or condemn airports or airlines for poor safety performance or customer service. Should a country transgress a given international standard adopted through our organization, ICAO's function in such circumstances…….is to help countries conduct any discussions, condemnations, sanctions, etc., they may wish to pursue, consistent with the Chicago Convention and the Articles and Annexes it contains under international law.” (ICAO, 2021)

In spite of being a growing liberalized global industry served by many firms, much of the international air cargo sector operated as an admitted cartel from 1999 through 2006. Partly due to the way the cartel was discovered, it seems very little empirical analysis to date has been done about the case. We use publicly available airline data to examine whether a diligent antitrust authority could have identified cartel/collusive behavior using established empirical methods. Our findings point to a regulatory failure in an industry whose long-standing business practices effectively “slipped through the cracks,” failing to protect the many shippers of air cargo.

Since 2000, the value of aircraft assets imported to – and exported from – the Irish economy has increased significantly. In each case, these figures represent a marked rise over a 17-year period. This gives rise to some simple questions: what are the dynamics that give rise to a small, open economy's demand for aircraft assets on this scale? Indeed, is it merely a reflection of our island location or is there something more at play? And can we comment on the role of the air cargo industry in this demand? Ireland's growing aircraft leasing industry is internationally orientated with Ireland emerging as an important hub for this industry. A recent industry estimate noted that nine of the world's 10 largest aircraft leasing companies are located in Ireland with the number of aircraft managed in Ireland at 3,500 (or 50%) of the entire global fleet of leased aircraft. This, in part, is an important contributor to this demand for aircraft assets. The objective of this research is to examine the flow of imports and exports of aircrafts to, and through, Ireland using Eurostat's International Trade in Goods Statistics (ITGS) dataset. The authors also use the International Trade in Services series in the Balance of Payments in order to consider the value, and relative scale, of the services provided by air freight operators in order to provide some context to the role of the air cargo sector.

This study aims to analyze the relationship between Málaga’s airport, air transport, companies and the local economy.

It is a bibliographic study, and it uses secondary data from Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea, Instituto de Estadística y Cartografía de Andalucía, España Exportación e Inversiones, Instituto Nacional de Estadística and International Air Transport Association to support research results. The investigation has reviewed and collected data on the specific paradigm of research which discusses, investigates and evaluates the impact of the Málaga Costa del Sol airport and its regional context.

The results of this study suggest that Málaga Costa del Sol airport promotes an increase of the establishment of companies in the city and how this plays an important role in the tourist, air cargo and logistics development and Málaga local economy. This is a great opportunity for companies and Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) help add value to local products, bet on tourist quality and design customized products with high added value, as long as the pandemic lasts, and everyone is vaccinated.

The contribution of this study is double. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study shows for the first time to Málaga Costa del Sol airport such as a multifunctional airfield (tourist-cargo-logistics-accessible) and not only as tourist airport. Second, this study shows the influence of Málaga airport in the establishment of large national and international companies in the city of Málaga and urban development. Furthermore, this paper contributes to the literature by presenting new evidence on the spatial spillover effects of airports on economic development in cities.

Assessing air cargo strategy from an airport's perspective is relatively novel, and it seems little attention has been paid to this research area. This chapter will address this research gap by introducing an Airport Cargo Strategy Canvas, designed to help build cargo strategies for individual airports.

The Airport Cargo Strategy Canvas can be used as a tool to analyze and improve the air cargo strategy of an airport. The first part of this chapter will explain the different components of the Airport Cargo Strategy Canvas more in detail. The horizontal axis on the canvas differentiates between exogenous and endogenous drivers of airport competitiveness. The vertical axis distinguishes between the airport product and the airport market. The canvas also considers potential disruptors and principal shareholders' objectives. The different components of the canvas allow the analyst to dig into the main features and differentiators of respective airports. The canvas might also be helpful to structure and compare the strategic components and framework of their own or competitors' cargo strategies.

In the second part, the Airport Cargo Strategy Canvas was applied to Brussels Airport to analyze its cargo strategy. The canvas showed several strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats in its current cargo strategy. The completed canvas will let Brussels Airport's executives explore and analyze the strategy of their main competitors and peers' strategy and help them identify potential gaps in their strategies.

Lessons are drawn from the experience of the logistics hub at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport for Korea s Inc he on International Airport. After providing an overview of the air cargo market the key factors underpinning the success of air cargo hubs are outlined. Examples are provided of Schiphol's multi-level strategy that aims at being simultaneously an air transport hub, a multimodal hub, and a logistics hub as a part of the airport city strategy. Consideration needs to be given to how the successful development of an air transport hub depends on the capacity problems at other competing air traffic nodes in the region. With this background, interest is centered upon the prospects of the Incheon International Airport becoming a cargo hub for Japan.