IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jaitra/v115y2024ics096969972400019x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Global network structure and emissions implications of long-thin airline routes

Author

Listed:
  • Burns, Porter
  • Bowen, John

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to define, map, and quantify the network and environmental implications of “long-thin†routes (LTRs) – a type of route that has been discussed in the aviation industry but not formally studied. LTRs were defined through the use of global OAG scheduling data from 1998 to 2018. Flights were separated into seven aircraft class sizes (e.g., 75-150 seats, 150-225 seats) to measure LTRs at multiple scales. Routes were considered “long†if the stage length was at or above the 75th percentile in each size class and were considered “thin†if the total seats of each airport-pair was at or below the 25th percentile for the relevant aircraft size class. Defined this way, the overall share of LTRs across the study period rose from 4.0% of available seat-nautical miles (ASNMs) in 1998 to 5.2% in 2018. While LTRs comprise a small share of the industry, their global coverage shows they play an integrating role, as about a third of airports were linked by at least one LTR over the study period. Further, this type of route is more important in some regions, especially Africa, than others. From an emissions perspective, LTRs are more efficient than non-LTRs on an ASNM basis. Overall, this research presents an original definition of LTRs and a spatial analysis of their elaboration over two decades. The analyses situate LTRs in the rivalry between low-cost carriers and other airlines, the airline industry’s contribution to climate change, and the uneven development of air traffic among world regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Burns, Porter & Bowen, John, 2024. "Global network structure and emissions implications of long-thin airline routes," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jaitra:v:115:y:2024:i:c:s096969972400019x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2024.102554
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096969972400019X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2024.102554?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zuidberg, Joost & de Wit, Jaap G., 2020. "The development of long-haul low-cost networks in the North Atlantic airline market: An exploratory data approach," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 103-113.
    2. Park, Yongha & O’Kelly, Morton E., 2014. "Fuel burn rates of commercial passenger aircraft: variations by seat configuration and stage distance," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 137-147.
    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. Peng, I-Chin & Lu, Hua-An, 2022. "Coopetition effects among global airline alliances for selected Asian airports," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    5. Joan Calzada & Xavier Fageda, 2019. "Route expansion in the European air transport market," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(8), pages 1149-1160, August.
    6. Zuidberg, Joost, 2019. "Network geographies and financial performances in low-cost carrier versus network carrier competition: The case of Norwegian versus SAS," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1-1.
    7. Dray, Lynnette, 2020. "An empirical analysis of airport capacity expansion," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    8. Azadian, Farshid & Vasigh, Bijan, 2019. "The blurring lines between full-service network carriers and low-cost carriers: A financial perspective on business model convergence," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 19-26.
    9. Reynolds-Feighan, Aisling, 2010. "Characterisation of airline networks: A North American and European comparison," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 109-120.
    10. Givoni, Moshe & Rietveld, Piet, 2010. "The environmental implications of airlines' choice of aircraft size," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 159-167.
    11. Park, Yongha & O'Kelly, Morton E., 2018. "Examination of cost-efficient aircraft fleets using empirical operation data in US aviation markets," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 224-234.
    12. Kobe Boussauw & Jean-Michel Decroly, 2021. "Territorializing International Travel Emissions: Geography and Magnitude of the Hidden Climate Footprint of Brussels," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(2), pages 285-298.
    13. Frédéric Dobruszkes & Jean-Michel Decroly & Pere Suau-Sanchez, 2022. "The monthly rhythms of aviation: A global analysis of passenger air service seasonality," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/341140, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    14. Frédéric Dobruszkes & Giulio Mattioli & Laurette Mathieu, 2022. "Banning super short-haul flights: Environmental evidence or political turbulence?," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/351156, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    15. Keiser, Dennis & Schnoor, Lars Henrik & Pupkes, Birte & Freitag, Michael, 2023. "Life cycle assessment in aviation: A systematic literature review of applications, methodological approaches and challenges," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    16. Wong, W.H. & Cheung, Tommy & Zhang, Anming & Wang, Yue, 2019. "Is spatial dispersal the dominant trend in air transport development? A global analysis for 2006–2015," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 1-12.
    17. Stefan Gössling & Chris Lyle, 2021. "Transition policies for climatically sustainable aviation," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(5), pages 643-658, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dobruszkes, Frédéric & Mattioli, Giulio & Mathieu, Laurette, 2022. "Banning super short-haul flights: Environmental evidence or political turbulence?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    2. Cheung, Tommy K.Y. & Wong, Collin W.H. & Zhang, Anming, 2020. "The evolution of aviation network: Global airport connectivity index 2006–2016," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    3. Sun, Xiaoqian & Wandelt, Sebastian & Zhang, Anming, 2022. "STARTUPS: Founding airlines during COVID-19 - A hopeless endeavor or an ample opportunity for a better aviation system?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 10-19.
    4. Kiracı, Kasım & Akan, Ercan, 2020. "Aircraft selection by applying AHP and TOPSIS in interval type-2 fuzzy sets," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Liu, Anyu & Kim, Yoo Ri & O'Connell, John Frankie, 2021. "COVID-19 and the aviation industry: The interrelationship between the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the frequency of flights on the EU market," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    6. Bonilla, Xavier & Ivaldi, Marc, 2023. "Banning short-haul domestic flights: A preliminary assessment for France," TSE Working Papers 23-1482, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    7. Manoela Cabo & Elton Fernandes & Paulo Alonso & Ricardo Rodrigues Pacheco & Felipe Fagundes, 2019. "Energy Effectiveness of Jet Fuel Utilization in Brazilian Air Transport," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, December.
    8. Chiambaretto, Paul & Combe, Emmanuel, 2023. "Business model hybridization but heterogeneous economic performance: Insights from low-cost and legacy carriers in Europe," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 83-97.
    9. Park, Yongha & O'Kelly, Morton E., 2018. "Examination of cost-efficient aircraft fleets using empirical operation data in US aviation markets," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 224-234.
    10. Morton E. O’Kelly & Yongha Park, 2023. "Contrasts in Sustainability between Hub-Based and Point-to-Point Airline Networks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-17, October.
    11. Defilippi, Enzo, 2019. "The environmental cost of Peru's domestic air transport: An appraisal," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 144-151.
    12. Zuidberg, Joost & de Wit, Jaap G., 2020. "The development of long-haul low-cost networks in the North Atlantic airline market: An exploratory data approach," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 103-113.
    13. Sismanidou, Athina & Tarradellas, Joan & Suau-Sanchez, Pere & O'Connor, Kevin, 2024. "Breaking barriers: An assessment of the feasibility of long-haul electric flights," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    14. Cantos-Sanchez, Pedro & Moner-Colonques, Rafael & Ruiz-Buforn, Alba & Sempere-Monerris, Jose J., 2024. "Should short-haul flights be banned? A simple transportation network analysis," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    15. Lay Eng Teoh & Hooi Ling Khoo, 2016. "Fleet Planning Decision-Making: Two-Stage Optimization with Slot Purchase," Journal of Optimization, Hindawi, vol. 2016, pages 1-12, June.
    16. Ahmed Eid & May Salah & Mahmoud Barakat & Matevz Obrecht, 2022. "Airport Sustainability Awareness: A Theoretical Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-22, September.
    17. Dixit, Aasheesh & Jakhar, Suresh Kumar, 2021. "Airport capacity management: A review and bibliometric analysis," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    18. Gong, Zhenwei & Zhang, Fangni & Liu, Wei & Graham, Daniel J., 2023. "On the effects of airport capacity expansion under responsive airlines and elastic passenger demand," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 48-76.
    19. Sibdari, Soheil & Mohammadian, Iman & Pyke, David F., 2018. "On the impact of jet fuel cost on airlines’ capacity choice: Evidence from the U.S. domestic markets," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 1-17.
    20. Huang, Robert & Kahn, Matthew E., 2024. "An economic analysis of United States public transit carbon emissions dynamics," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jaitra:v:115:y:2024:i:c:s096969972400019x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-air-transport-management/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.