he introduction of more fuel-efficient 'next generation' aircraft has the potential to yield benefits for fuel burn and CO2 emissions over current generation aircraft. This has important implications in terms of airline fuel costs and competition, but also for compliance with future environmental legislation and market based incentive schemes. In Europe, major low-cost carriers such Ryanair, easyJet, and Norwegian Air Shuttle have been active in updating their fleet, and they now operate some of the youngest fleets in the industry. Subsequently, the paper assesses the possible fuel burn and CO2 impacts of the introduction of next generation aircraft by employing OAG data and EUROCONTROL's 'Small Emitters Tool' to determine the annual fuel burn and CO2 emissions for easyJet, a major European low-cost carrier. Estimations were then made regarding the potential impacts on fuel burn and CO2 emissions from the introduction of the airline's next generation of aircraft under three fleet plan scenarios. Analysis indicates that while new aircraft may allow airlines to increase the capacity in their network with only a marginal increase in overall fuel burn and CO2 emissions, this is unlikely to lead to substantial overall reductions in total fuel burn and emissions, at least in the short term.
This paper covers the development dynamics of the air transportation industry. Having the evolutionary economic geography as the frame of reference, we analyze the co-evolution of the market (selective environment), the aeronautics knowledge and equipment (technology) and the air transportation institutional policy (policy). The stress is on those factors affecting network formation and tie selection. The results of this investigation add to the limited empirical research on the evolution of transport network systems. We found that air transport shows a path dependency; although at the same time has a strong level of uncertainty due to exogenous factors. Also, the co-evolution between the selective market environment, technology and institutional decisions has been verified. The latter happen to be key, as the evolution of air transportation can only be understood in the context of a mixed regulatory environment that provides different levels of freedom for network formation. ; Aquest article se centra en les dinàmiques existents a la indústria del transport aeri. Utilitzant com a marc teòric la geografia econòmica evolucionista, analitzem la coevolució entre el mercat (ambient selectiu), el coneixement i l'equipament aeronàutic (tecnologia) i les polítiques públiques en transport aeri (institucions). El focus de la nostra anàlisi se situa en els factors que afecten la formació de la xarxa i la selecció d'enllaços. Els resultats mostren que el transport aeri té una alta dependència de la trajectòria anterior, tot i que al mateix temps demostra una alta incertesa a causa de factors externs. També s'ha confirmat l'existència de processos de coevolució entre l'ambient selectiu del mercat, la tecnologia i les decisions institucionals. Aquestes últimes demostren ser claus, ja que l'evolució del transport aeri només es pot entendre en el context d'un ambient de regulació mixta que proporciona diferents nivells de llibertat per a la formació de xarxes. ; Este artículo se centra en las dinámicas existentes en la industria del transporte aéreo. Utilizando como marco teórico la geografía económica evolucionista, analizamos la coevolución entre el mercado (ambiente selectivo), el conocimiento y el equipo aeronáutico (tecnología) y las políticas públicas de transporte aéreo (instituciones). El foco de nuestro análisis se centra en los factores que afectan a la formación de la red y la selección de enlaces. Los resultados muestran que el transporte aéreo tiene una alta dependencia de la trayectoria anterior, aunque al mismo tiempo demuestra una alta incertidumbre a causa de factores externos. También se ha confirmado la existencia de procesos de coevolución entre el ambiente selectivo del mercado, la tecnología y las decisiones institucionales. Estas últimas demuestran ser claves, ya que la evolución del transporte aéreo solo puede entenderse en el contexto de un ambiente de regulación mixta que proporciona diferentes niveles de libertad para la formación de redes. ; Cet article met l'accent sur la dynamique de développement de l'industrie du transport aérien. Avec la géographie économique évolutionniste comme cadre de référence, nous analysons la coévolution du marché (milieu sélectif), avec la connaissance et l'équipement aéronautique (technologie) et la politique institutionnel des transports aériens (politique). L'accent est mis sur les facteurs qui influent sur la formation des réseaux et la sélection des liaisons aériennes. Les résultats de cette étude ont permis d'améliorer la recherche empirique sur l'évolution des systèmes de réseau de transport. Nous avons constaté que le transport aérien montre une dépendance au sentier, bien que dans le même temps a un fort niveau d'incertitude due à des facteurs exogènes. De plus, nous avons vérifiée la coévolution entre l'environnement sélective du marché, la technologie et les décisions institutionnelles. Ces derniers sont des décisions clés, car l'évolution du transport aérienne peut être comprise que dans le contexte d'un environnement mixte réglementaire qui offre différents niveaux de liberté pour la formation des réseaux.
Government agencies classify airports for different purposes, including the allocation of public funding for capacity developments. In a context of hub classification, determining the contribution of each airport to the national network in terms of the two dimensions of hubbing -i.e., traffic generation and connectivity- is a key aspect. In this regard, the choice of an appropriate connectivity indicator is still an unresolved issue. This paper adapts the well-known flow centrality indicator to an air transport context and develops a novel measure of airport connectivity. An application to the US domestic network is provided, using quarterly data on passenger demand to perform a detailed time-series analysis of airport connectivity patterns between 1993 and 2012. The flow centrality indicator is then used to define an alternative airport classification method within the context of the Federal Aviation Administration's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIASs). Results show that there is potential for improving the existing airport typology by explicitly separating connectivity and traffic generation as classification criteria.
