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Excess capacity: a permanent characteristic of US airlines?

Author

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  • Badi H. Baltagi

    (Texas A&M University, Department of Economics, College Station, Texas, 77843-4228, USA)

  • James M. Griffin

    (Texas A&M University, Department of Economics, College Station, Texas, 77843-4228, USA)

  • Sharada R. Vadali

    (Texas A&M University, Department of Economics, College Station, Texas, 77843-4228, USA)

Abstract

This paper examines the permanence of excess capacity in the US airline industry. To avoid the problems with the standard engineering measure of capacity utilization, load factor, we define and measure capacity as an economic concept. Two measures of economic capacity utilization are then computed-one, a demand-based measure and the other an output-based measure of capacity utilization. Both measures share little in common with the standard engineering measure (load factor) and reveal some interesting attributes of airline travel demand. This paper also provides interesting new insights into the role of deregulation and the costs of excess capacity during regulation. Specifically, it is found that deregulation with the concomitant rationalization of route structures enabled airlines to move closer to their optimal levels of capacity and facilitated substantial improvements in capacity utilization and cost reductions over the period considered. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Badi H. Baltagi & James M. Griffin & Sharada R. Vadali, 1998. "Excess capacity: a permanent characteristic of US airlines?," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(6), pages 645-657.
    • Handle: RePEc:jae:japmet:v:13:y:1998:i:6:p:645-657
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    Cited by:

    1. Lundmark, Robert & Nolander, Carl & Olofsson, Elias, 2021. "Spatial production structure and input choices of forest products in Sweden," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    2. Subal Kumbhakar & Efthymios Tsionas, "undated". "Does Deregulation Change Economic Behavior of Firms?," Working Papers 0303, University of Crete, Department of Economics.
    3. Kumbhakar, Subal & Tsionas, Efthymios, 2003. "Recent Developments in Stochastic Frontier Modeling," Efficiency Series Papers 2003/06, University of Oviedo, Department of Economics, Oviedo Efficiency Group (OEG).
    4. Kostas Tsekouras & Dimitris Skuras, 2005. "Productive efficiency and exports: an examination of alternative hypotheses for the Greek cement industry," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(3), pages 279-291.
    5. Alex Coad & Clemens Domnick & Florian Flachenecker & Peter Harasztosi & Mario Lorenzo Janiri & Rozalia Pal & Mercedes Teruel, 2022. "Capacity constraints as a trigger for high growth," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 893-923, October.
    6. Coad, Alexander & Domnick, Clemens & Flachenecker, Florian & Harasztosi, Peter & Janiri, Mario Lorenzo & Pál, Rozália & Teruel Carrizosa, Mercedes, 2021. "Do capacity constraints trigger high growth for enterprises?," EIB Working Papers 2021/08, European Investment Bank (EIB).
    7. Efthymios Tsionas & Dimitris Christopoulos, 2001. "Efficiency measurement with nonstationary variables: an application of panel cointegration techniques," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 3(14), pages 1-7.
    8. Lundmark, Robert & Olsson, Anna, 2015. "Factor substitution and procurement competition for forest resources in Sweden," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 99-109.
    9. Shengyu Liu & Heng Yin, 2017. "A Structural Method to Estimate Firm-level Capacity Utilization and Application to Chinese Heavy Industries," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 18(1), pages 1-28, May.
    10. Nikos Tsikriktsis, 2007. "The Effect of Operational Performance and Focus on Profitability: A Longitudinal Study of the U.S. Airline Industry," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 9(4), pages 506-517, April.
    11. Kutlu, Levent & Sickles, Robin C., 2012. "Estimation of market power in the presence of firm level inefficiencies," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 168(1), pages 141-155.

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