Exploring Strategic Choices of Airlines: A Study in Turkish Air Transport Industry

Inter-firm competition in the field of aviation, which accelerates through liberalisation and globalisation trends, has been investigated by numerous studies in the post-deregulation era; however, it has not been adequately addressed in Turkish aviation market. The aim of this study is to unveil the business strategies and strategic typologies of Turkish passenger carriers, as well as the degree of involvement of firms in the strategic planning process, the current outlook, and the competitive structure of the Turkish passenger air transport industry. The research is designed in a way to collect data through interviews with senior executives of the airlines. In terms of findings, the study concludes that five scheduled airlines and three charter airlines have attempted to implement more than one generic strategy at the same time as an “integrated cost and differentiation strategy,” with the primary strategy being cost leadership. Moreover, the passenger carriers in question displayed the features of “analysers-defenders” mainly linked to the competitive typology viewpoint. This study is believed to lead to a deeper understanding of potential explanations why companies have made specific strategic choices regarding generic strategies and strategic approaches. Regulators, individual companies operating in the aviation industry and prospective companies, investors, etc. can use the results of the study to regulate the market, better understand their competitors, set their priorities and plans, evaluate, and assess the market.

Determinants of financial distress in the European air transport industry: The moderating effect of being a flag-carrier

Due to the COVID-induced global collapse in demand for air travel, the year 2020 was a catastrophic one for the aviation industry. A dramatic drop in operating revenues along with continuing fixed expenses drained the cash reserves of airlines, with consequent risks of financial distress and, potentially, even of bankruptcy. Flag-carriers are a special group in the airline business—they are considered to have privileges in terms of the support given by governments while, on the other hand, are often viewed as having low efficiency and performance. This study aims to estimate for European airlines the interaction effect of being a flag-carrier (flagship) with the relationship between leverage, liquidity, profitability, and the degree of financial distress. Findings obtained from analysing 99 European airlines over a period of ten years, indicate that the negative influence of leverage on financial stability is higher in the case of flag carriers (flagship). The impact of liquidity and profitability on financial health is more positive for flagship than for non-flagship carriers. These findings are not limited to contributing to the existing literature, but also have significant practical implications for executives, managers, and policy makers in the European air transport sector.

The Role of Regional Airports in Connectivity and Regional Development

This article analyzes the contribution of regional airports in Colombia to the development of the domestic air transport network, and with it, to the connectivity of the regions and their social and economic development. The growth and evolution of Colombian regional airports are supported and driven by a set of public and investment policies, designed exclusively for the air sector and implemented, almost continuously, since the liberalization of the air transport industry in the country in the early 1990s and are still in development. Having said this, this work analyzes how the network of regional airports have been able to develop in two and a half decades through public policies, and later, how these airports have positively impacted connectivity and socioeconomic development in the territories. All this is done through the presentation and analysis of related indicators.

SIMULATION OF EGNOS SATELLITE NAVIGATION SIGNAL USAGE FOR AIRCRAFT LPV PRECISION INSTRUMENT APPROACH

Satellite navigation has become a very important topic in the air transport industry along with its application in instrument approach procedures. Recently, extracted statistical characteristics of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) satellite signal have been made available from real measurements in the Czech Republic. The numerical modeling approach is taken for a feasibility study of automatic aircraft control during the Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance (LPV) precision approach based on such navigation data. The model incorporates Kalman filtering of the stochastic navigation signal, feed-back control of L-410 aircraft dynamics and the calculation of approach progress along the predefined procedure. Evaluation of the performance of the system prototype is performed using the scenarios developed with a strong interest in altitude control. The specific scenario is focused on a curved approach which offers a huge advantage of the approaches based on the Satellite-based Augmentation System (SBAS) compared to ones with the Instrument Landing System (ILS). Outputs of simulation executions are statistically analyzed and assessed against predefined navigation performance goals equivalent to ILS categories with a positive outcome.

High-Order Community Detection in the Air Transport Industry: A Comparative Analysis among 10 Major International Airlines

Community detection in a complex network is an ongoing field. While the air transport network has gradually formed as a complex system, the topological and geographical characteristics of airline networks have become crucial in understanding the network dynamics and airports’ roles. This research tackles the highly interconnected parts in weighted codeshare networks. A dataset comprising ten major international airlines is selected to conduct a comparative analysis. The result confirms that the clique percolation method can be used in conjunction with other metrics to shed light on air transport network topology, recognizing patterns of inter- and intra-community connections. Moreover, the topological detection results are interpreted and explained from a transport geographical perspective, with the physical airline network structure. As complex as it may seem, the airline network tends to be a relatively small system with only a few high-order communities, which can be characterized by geographical constraints. This research also contributes to the literature by capturing new insights regarding the topological patterns of the air transport industry. Particularly, it reveals the wide hub-shifting phenomenon and the possibility of airlines with different business models sharing an identical topology profile.

Past Attacks, Future Risks: Where Are We 20-years After 9/11?

his year, 2021, marks the 20th anniversary since 9/11, recorded as the ‘day that changed the world.’ Security remains an area where governments and airlines are continuously struggling to stay ahead, but since 9/11 there have been other challenges to the air transport industry – not least Covid-19. This research primarily critically reviews the actions taken in the aftermath of 9/11 from the US and EU perspective, before consideration is given to the current/present situation, the new, and emerging challenges being faced. The research is undertaken through a legal/policy perspective. The findings are that internationally and regionally, society is not prepared for another attack and that there remain a number of challenges that stand to impact aviation; ultimately, more collective action is needed to mitigate for such risks going forward.

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON AIR TRAFFIC INDUSTRY: CHALLENGES IN CROATIA

By the end of September, 2020 total worldwide number of Covid-19 infections has surpassed 34 million inhabitants, while the number of deaths caused by health pandemic crisis stands at more than one million. It’s predicted that the year 2020 will see about 10 percent drop in economic growth compared to the previous year. Different macroeconomic scientific and professional authors in their forecasts agree that the worse scenarios will be suffered by global and regional tourism industries together with air transport industry. The consequences of Covid-19 on air transport results in 2020 compared to results in the last three decades are analysed on four different levels - worldwide, European, South-East European and Croatian aviation achievements. Besides, the correlation between the global touristic and air carriers’ results in last three decades is considered in the paper with adequate conclusions. IATA monitors developments related to the Coronavirus outbreak, publishes industry statistics and analysis of COVID-19 impacts on the financial and traffic performance and produces outlook for the global air transport industry. According to its latest forecast, full-year 2020 traffic is expected to be down by 66% compared to 2019 while revenues are expected to fall by even more than demand. ICAO has prepared few models and analyses of final business results with different magnitudes on air transport industry recovery. Special attention and business details in the paper are devoted to the Croatian air transport situation in light of Covid-19 with conclusions, suggestions and proposals for future survival and development scenarios, including appropriate actions and measures as well as state, regional or local financial support. The activities and measures taken by Croatia Airlines can be characterized as an example of good practice in the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic and are articulated as guidelines for the operations of regional airlines in the mentioned conditions.

Uzbekistan’s Development under the Leadership of Various Political Reforms: The Case of Air Transport Industry

The First President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, continued to isolate the country for many years even after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, which in turn worsened all the strategic sectors in the country, especially the aviation market and tourism industries. However, in the period 2017-2018, the skyrocket in the number of tourists, from 2.69 million to 5.34 million, became possible due to the coming of Shavkat Mirziyoyev to power as the new President. But the lack of air connectivity kept reducing aspiration of traveling from non-CIS countries. To solve the issue, the new President Mirziyoyev’s large-scale policy reforms concerned the air transport sector, too. The main objective of the study is to compare the development of the country under the leadership of various political reforms using the aviation industry of Uzbekistan as an example. To achieve the purposes, the authors examine reciprocal action/influence between airlines, airports and government. In addition, a significant amount of data was collected from Russian-language sources to enrich the content. Even though the paper was written before the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors' research is still important to nudge readers into a new perspective.