IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/transr/v32y2012i4p435-453.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Airport Incentive Programmes: A European Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Robert Malina
  • Sascha Albers
  • Nathalie Kroll

Abstract

This study investigates the current pricing practices at 200 airports in the European Union (EU). The analysis shows that airport incentive programmes, which are used in one-third of all airports, are generally a common tool of airport pricing. This study also finds evidence of bilateral agreements between airport operators or regional authorities, on the one hand, and airlines, on the other hand, that substitute for published incentive programmes. Geographically, the usage of these different tools varies substantially between different EU countries. A detailed assessment of the incentive schemes offered at German airports within our broader European sample reveals that the average level of landing and take-off, parking and positioning, and passenger charges is generally reduced by more than 10%. The highest reduction amounts to 44%. Given the usually low profit margin of airlines and that airport charges account for up to 10% of the total operating costs, these incentives can have an important influence on the economic viability of a route. Moreover, in an airline's multi-criteria-based assessment of potential market entries or route expansions, such incentive schemes might compensate for selected weaknesses of an airport's strategic position.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Malina & Sascha Albers & Nathalie Kroll, 2012. "Airport Incentive Programmes: A European Perspective," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(4), pages 435-453, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:transr:v:32:y:2012:i:4:p:435-453
    DOI: 10.1080/01441647.2012.684223
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/01441647.2012.684223
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/01441647.2012.684223?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 look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard K. Green, 2007. "Airports and Economic Development," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 35(1), pages 91-112, March.
    2. Jan K. Brueckner, 2003. "Airline Traffic and Urban Economic Development," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 40(8), pages 1455-1469, July.
    3. Marco Percoco, 2010. "Airport Activity and Local Development: Evidence from Italy," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 47(11), pages 2427-2443, October.
    4. Barbot, Cristina, 2006. "Low-cost airlines, secondary airports, and state aid: An economic assessment of the Ryanair–Charleroi Airport agreement," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 197-203.
    5. Gillen, David & Hinsch, Holger, 2001. "Measuring the economic impact of liberalization of international aviation on Hamburg airport," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 25-34.
    6. Jean-Charles Rochet & Jean Tirole, 2003. "Platform Competition in Two-Sided Markets," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 1(4), pages 990-1029, June.
    7. Auerbach, Stefan & Koch, Benjamin, 2007. "Cooperative approaches to managing air traffic efficiently—the airline perspective," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 37-44.
    8. Farrell, Joseph & Klemperer, Paul, 2007. "Coordination and Lock-In: Competition with Switching Costs and Network Effects," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: Mark Armstrong & Robert Porter (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 31, pages 1967-2072, Elsevier.
    9. Varian, Hal R, 1985. "Price Discrimination and Social Welfare," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(4), pages 870-875, September.
    10. Williams, George & Pagliari, Romano, 2004. "A comparative analysis of the application and use of public service obligations in air transport within the EU," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 55-66, January.
    11. Friedrich Gröteke & Wolfgang Kerber, 2004. "The Case of Ryanair – EU State Aid Policy on the Wrong Runway," Marburg Working Papers on Economics 200413, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    12. Barrett, Sean D., 2004. "How do the demands for airport services differ between full-service carriers and low-cost carriers?," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 33-39.
    13. Lohmann, Guilherme & Albers, Sascha & Koch, Benjamin & Pavlovich, Kathryn, 2009. "From hub to tourist destination – An explorative study of Singapore and Dubai's aviation-based transformation," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 15(5), pages 205-211.
    14. Francis, Graham & Fidato, Alessandro & Humphreys, Ian, 2003. "Airport–airline interaction: the impact of low-cost carriers on two European airports," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 267-273.
    15. Albers, Sascha & Koch, Benjamin & Ruff, Christine, 2005. "Strategic alliances between airlines and airports—theoretical assessment and practical evidence," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 49-58.
    16. David Starkie, 2001. "Reforming UK Airport Regulation," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 35(1), pages 119-135, January.
    17. Johannes Fuhr & Thorsten Beckers, 2008. "Contract Design, Financing Arrangements and Public Ownership—An Assessment of the US Airport Governance Model," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 459-478, September.
    18. Gillen, David, 2011. "The evolution of airport ownership and governance," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 3-13.
    19. Delfmann, Werner & Albers, Sascha, 2000. "Supply chain management in the global context," Working Paper Series 102, University of Cologne, Department of Business Policy and Logistics.
    20. Warnock-Smith, David & Potter, Andrew, 2005. "An exploratory study into airport choice factors for European low-cost airlines," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 11(6), pages 388-392.
    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. Allroggen, Florian & Malina, Robert & Lenz, Ann-Katrin, 2013. "Which factors impact on the presence of incentives for route and traffic development? Econometric evidence from European airports," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 49-61.
    2. Castillo-Manzano, José I. & López-Valpuesta, Lourdes & González-Laxe, Fernando, 2011. "The effects of the LCC boom on the urban tourism fabric: The viewpoint of tourism managers," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 1085-1095.
    3. Stefan Gössling & Frank Fichert & Peter Forsyth, 2017. "Subsidies in Aviation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-19, July.
    4. Choo, Yap Yin & Oum, Tae Hoon, 2013. "Impacts of low cost carrier services on efficiency of the major U.S. airports," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 60-67.
    5. Dziedzic, Marcin & Njoya, Eric T. & Warnock-Smith, David & Hubbard, Nick, 2020. "Determinants of air traffic volumes and structure at small European airports," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    6. Lin, Eliver & Mak, Barry & Wong, Kevin, 2013. "The business relationships between LCCs and airports in Southeast Asia: Influences of power imbalance and mutual dependence," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 33-46.
    7. Fageda, Xavier & Jiménez, Juan Luis & Valido, Jorge, 2017. "An empirical evaluation of the effects of European public policies on island airfares," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 288-299.
    8. Stephen Pratt & Markus Schuckert, 2019. "Economic impact of low-cost carrier in a saturated transport market: Net benefits or zero-sum game?," Tourism Economics, , vol. 25(2), pages 149-170, March.
    9. Lei, Zheng & Papatheodorou, Andreas, 2010. "Measuring the effect of low-cost carriers on regional airports' commercial revenue," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 37-43.
    10. Suau-Sanchez, Pere & Burghouwt, Guillaume, 2011. "The geography of the Spanish airport system: spatial concentration and deconcentration patterns in seat capacity distribution, 2001–2008," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 244-254.
    11. Pot, Felix Johan & Koster, Sierdjan, 2022. "Small airports: Runways to regional economic growth?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    12. Kenneth Button, 2020. "Studying the empirical implications of the liberalization of airport markets," Competition and Regulation in Network Industries, , vol. 21(3), pages 223-243, September.
    13. Tiziana D'Alfonso & Valentina Bracaglia & Yulai Wan, 2015. "Airport cities and multiproduct pricing," DIAG Technical Reports 2015-14, Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Universita' degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza".
    14. Bernardo, Valeria & Fageda, Xavier, 2019. "Globalization, long-haul flights and inter-city connections," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 1-1.
    15. Wu, Hanjun & Hong Tsui, Kan Wai & Ngo, Thanh & Lin, Yi-Hsin, 2020. "Impacts of aviation subsidies on regional wellbeing: Systematic review, meta-analysis and future research directions," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 215-239.
    16. Dobruszkes, Frédéric & Mondou, Véronique & Ghedira, Aymen, 2016. "Assessing the impacts of aviation liberalisation on tourism: Some methodological considerations derived from the Moroccan and Tunisian cases," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 115-127.
    17. Choi, Jong Hae & Park, Yonghwa & Wang, Kun & Xia, Wenyi, 2020. "Whether low-cost-carrier passengers spend more on duty-free goods at the airport? Evidence from Incheon International Airport," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    18. Redondi, Renato & Malighetti, Paolo & Paleari, Stefano, 2013. "European connectivity: the role played by small airports," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 86-94.
    19. Alderighi, Marco & Gaggero, Alberto A., 2017. "Fly and trade: Evidence from the Italian manufacturing industry," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 9(C), pages 51-60.
    20. Stephen Gibbons & Wenjie Wu, 2017. "Airports, Market Access and Local Economic Performance: Evidence from China," SERC Discussion Papers 0211, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.

    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:taf:transr:v:32:y:2012:i:4:p:435-453. 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/TTRV20 .

    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.