Brent D. Bowen

Benchmarking Airline Service Performance: A Reference Point for Airline and Government Evaluation

The Airline Quality Rating (AQR) was first announced in the early 1990s as an objective mechanism of measuring airline service performance based on multiple selected criteria important to air travel consumers. Since then, AQR results have assisted the government in decision making and airlines in measuring service quality. Initially, annual AQR reports used weighted averages and monthly performance data in the areas of on-time arrivals, involuntary denied boardings, mishandled baggage and a combination category of customer complaints for which major airline comparative performances were reported. To further strengthen the significance of national AQR results, this article revisited AQR data sets and benchmarked four former reports. This article contains an introduction of benchmarking technique, AQR data collection and calculation, benchmarked results, and charts that help to track comparative service quality for major U.S. airlines’ domestic operations.

Implementing A National Small Aircraft Transportation System A Public Infrastructure Challenge

Reshaped by recent legislative deregulation, the existing U.S. transportation infrastructure is becoming increasingly constrained by capacity. Policies that have favored continued highway construction and large commercial service airports are being challenged by forecasts that the demand for transportation will continue to outgrow our ability to construct new interstate lanes and runways. In response, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has proposed a national Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS), a revolutionary solution that would combine emerging aircraft and communications technologies with underutilized aviation infrastructure to meet our future transportation needs. This article briefly reviews (a) watershed legislation that has affected the transportation infrastructure in the United States and (b) how transportation has failed to keep pace with demographic changes. The article concludes with a discussion of issues relevant to the development of a national transportation policy for the 21st century that includes SATS.

Airline Quality Rating 2013

The Airline Quality Rating (AQR) is an objective method of comparing the quality of airlines, based on combined multiple performance criteria. This report presents monthly AQR scores for 2002. These AQR scores are based on 15 elements that focus on airline performance areas important to air travel consumers. Month-by-month quality ratings are presented for the 10 largest U.S. airlines operating during 2002. Using the AQR system of weighted averages and monthly performance data in the areas of on-time arrivals, involuntary denied boardings, mishandled baggage, and a combination of 12 customer complaint categories, the comparative performance of the airlines for calendar year 2002 is reported. The report contains a brief summary of the AQR methodology, detailed data and charts that track comparative quality for domestic airline operations for the 12-month period of 2002, and industry average results. Also, comparative AQR data for 2001 are included for each airline to provide historical perspective regarding performance quality in the industry.

Maximizing Intra-Agency Relationships through Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments and Small Aircraft Transportation System

As the United States’s transportation system becomes more congested and time becomes more precious, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has explored ways to address these problems. In the early 1990s, NASA formed the Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments (AGATE) program to develop technology that would operationalize a small aircraft transportation system (SATS) and take the country into the next century of transportation. This analysis employs the research methodology of the case study to investigate the success of AGATE and relates its description to the continued formation of SATS. AGATE’s success stemmed from facilitating industry cooperation and providing practical application of its outputs. Although AGATE and SATS had different goals and participants, SATS may benefit by recognizing problems the earlier program faced. By examining the lessons learned in AGATE, SATS will be better able to achieve its goals and help the American people take flight.

Advocating the Implementation of an Airline Safety Information System

Concern for flight safety is at the forefront of attention for airlines, government, and the flying public. But despite the passage of several aviation safety-related bills in the 1990s, the Federal Aviation Administration’s lack of training in airline inspection and reluctance to release safety data has meant that needed airline safety information is still inaccessible to the public. In the aftermath of recent airline tragedies, however, several consumer advocacy groups, investigative commissions, and the popular media have called for an aviation safety ranking system. Such a rating tool would provide both a useful guide and an incentive for an eventual comprehensive system of aviation safety policy. The rating could include rational factors of safety measurements, such as the rate of accidents, rate of fatality, pilot violations, maintenance fraud, financial stability, average age of fleet, and type of enforcement actions (certificate or monetary). And such a rating may provide a model for forecasting airlines at risk as well as a tool for identifying gaps in the architecture of our public aviation infrastructure.

Aeronautics and Public Works

Produced in conjunction with the Journal of Air Transportation World Wide (JATWW), this special issue of Public Works Management & Policy (PWMP) reflects the significant role the field of aeronautics holds within public infrastructure’s past, present, and future. This unique partnership between the two journals and the fields they represent provides a rare platform to demonstrate the multilayered connection between issues of aviation administration and policy and the development and operations of public infrastructure systems at the federal, state, and local level. As an ever-expanding means of transportation and a crucial link between communities, aeronautics and the aviation industry are substantial components of public works management and policy. Whereas the railroads united the country, aeronautics unites the world. Decisions made in the various areas of aviation have both direct and indirect effects on the welfare and concerns of the community at large. Articles chosen for this issue reflect the strong connection between public works and management and the aviation or aerospace industry. The JATWW appreciates the opportunity to illustrate the compatibility of the aeronautics industry with those interests represented by the divergent readership of PWMP. Based on the success of this mutually beneficial partnership, the editors of the JATWW hope to further demonstrate the role of aerospace and intermodal transportation systems in the public works arena. “The Privatization of Commercial Airports in the United States: What Is Wrong With the Federal Aviation Administration Privatization Program, and What Might Be More Successful?” by Keith Mew. This article reviews the success and failure of the privatization of United States’ airports. In looking at specific airports, Mew explains past shortcomings and future possibilities. Community awareness of the privatization issue and other options is critical because an airport can play a significant role in a community’s development. “Assessing Efficiency of European Airports,” by Easwar A. Nyshadham and Vadhindran K. Rao. Here, Nyshadham and Rao evaluate the efficiency of European airports by using a Total Factor Productivity (TFP) approach. They also investigate the relationship between the TFP and other measures of airport productivity. The results demonstrate the success of the TFP and point out the key aspects of airport efficiency. These findings highlight factors that will provide a successful link to airport and community development. “Classification of Airport Pavements: A Simple Methodology,” by Andreas Loizos, George Charonitis, and Ioanna Chasiotou. This article explores the critical procedures that determine the compatibility between an aircraft and the landing pavement at various airports. To ensure maximum use of both aircraft and the airport, these factors must be considered on a continual basis and be part of the overall planning process. This is not only a manufacturer’s issue but also an administrative issue when considering the development and maintenance of an airport. “Proposed Air Traffic Control Strategies to Reduce Airport Delay and Improve Capacity,” by Chris Nutakor. Nutakor examines and tests two methods of air traffic control that might better utilize airspace by reducing average departure delay. This research affects numerous areas of Brent D. Bowen, Ph.D., is the University of Nebraska Foundation Distinguished Professor in Aviation and the editor of the Journal of Air Transportation World Wide (JATWW). He serves as director for the Aviation Institute and director of Aviation and Transportation Policy and Research at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). His research focuses on aviation applications of public productivity enhancement and marketing in the areas of service quality evaluation and forecasting.