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How Do Airlines Cut Fuel Usage, Reducing Their Carbon Emissions?

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Listed:
  • Jan K. Brueckner
  • Matthew E. Kahn
  • Jerry Nickelsburg

Abstract

Airline fuel consumption is costly for the firms and for society as well due to a climate-change externality. We study how fuel price changes affect cost-minimizing choices by airlines that have implications for the extent of this externality. The airline industry’s capital stock can be easily inventoried as a set of long-lived, durable aircraft. This portfolio approach allows us to study the utilization and composition of the capital stock at a highly disaggregated level. Changes in airline operations directed toward conserving fuel can be an important path toward lower emissions.

Suggested Citation

  • Jan K. Brueckner & Matthew E. Kahn & Jerry Nickelsburg, 2023. "How Do Airlines Cut Fuel Usage, Reducing Their Carbon Emissions?," CESifo Working Paper Series 10478, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10478
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alessandro Gavazza, 2011. "Leasing and Secondary Markets: Theory and Evidence from Commercial Aircraft," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 119(2), pages 325-377.
    2. Li, Shanjun & Kahn, Matthew E. & Nickelsburg, Jerry, 2015. "Public transit bus procurement: The role of energy prices, regulation and federal subsidies," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 57-71.
    3. Brueckner, Jan K. & Abreu, Chrystyane, 2020. "Does the fuel-conservation effect of higher fuel prices appear at both the aircraft-model and aggregate airline levels?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    4. Christopher R. Knittel, 2012. "Reducing Petroleum Consumption from Transportation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 26(1), pages 93-118, Winter.
    5. Thomas Klier & Joshua Linn, 2010. "The Price of Gasoline and New Vehicle Fuel Economy: Evidence from Monthly Sales Data," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 134-153, August.
    6. Fageda, Xavier & Teixidó, Jordi J., 2022. "Pricing carbon in the aviation sector: Evidence from the European emissions trading system," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    7. Matthew E. Kahn & Jerry Nickelsburg, 2016. "An Economic Analysis of U.S Airline Fuel Economy Dynamics from 1991 to 2015," NBER Working Papers 22830, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Brueckner, Jan K. & Abreu, Chrystyane, 2017. "Airline fuel usage and carbon emissions: Determining factors," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 10-17.
    9. M. Selim Aktürk & Alper Atamtürk & Sinan Gürel, 2014. "Aircraft Rescheduling with Cruise Speed Control," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 62(4), pages 829-845, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Huang, Robert & Kahn, Matthew E., 2023. "An economic analysis of United States public transit carbon emissions dynamics," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    airlines; fuel; climate change; carbon emissions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q52 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects
    • L93 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Air Transportation

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