Jackie Fry

The benchmarking of airport performance

This paper examines how benchmarking is being used by airport managers as a means of internal performance comparison and improvement. Drawing on interviews with airport managers and a questionnaire survey of the worlds top 200 busiest passenger airports, the paper discusses the nature, prevalence and consequences of current benchmarking practices in airports. The authors also include a review of the literature on airport benchmarking and a discussion of the characteristics and relevance of Best Practice Benchmarking.

The evolution of benchmarking in UK local authorities

Explores issues surrounding the recent evolution of benchmarking in the UK public sector with particular regard to local authorities. Argues that what is being done in the name of benchmarking in UK local authorities is fundamentally different to the current understanding of benchmarking practice in the private sector. Despite these differences, and somewhat ironically, the development of benchmarking in the public sector pre‐dates its popularity in the private sector. In the public sector, benchmarking is frequently in response to central government requirements, or is used for defensive reasons rather than striving for performance gains. These themes are captured in two new benchmarking typologies: compulsory and voluntary models of benchmarking. Concludes that: the reasons for benchmarking in the public sector are confused; pressures for accountability in the public sector may militate against real performance improvement; and an appropriate balance between the use of benchmarking for control and improvement purposes is yet to be achieved.

Benchmarking in civil aviation: some empirical evidence

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the use of best practice benchmarking in civil aviation.Design/methodology/approach – Evidence was gathered from two international questionnaire surveys of the top 200 airlines and the top 200 airports. Supplementary evidence included interviews with airline and airport managers.Findings – The profile of responses was a good match to the samples. Benchmarking was identified as the most used performance improvement technique for both airlines and airports. Larger airlines were more likely to engage in benchmarking. Ease of usage and the cost relative to other performance improvement techniques were important factors in determining benchmarking uptake. Problems of data comparability and competitive sensitivity were raised. Airports had a greater tendency to concentrate on benchmarking with similar organisations and placed a relatively greater emphasis on its use for performance measurement over process improvement.Research limitations/implications – Further research shou...

International Survey of Performance Measurement in Airports

The seemingly relentless growth in air traffic and the introduction of commercial and private models of airport ownership have changed the scope and significance of performance measurement for airport management, regulators, and stakeholders. The findings of a questionnaire survey are reported. The survey examined the nature and prevalence of the performance measurement of airports. Previous studies have examined specific airports or groups of airports and compared performance. This research assesses the way in which performance measures are used by management at the world’s busiest passenger airports using empirical evidence collected principally through the means of a worldwide questionnaire survey of the 200 largest passenger airports. A rich picture of various performance measurement practices was discovered.

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT IN AIRPORTS: A CRITICAL INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON

This article examines airport performance measurement systems under varying ownership patterns in Europe andthe United States, bringing together a rich picture of different practices. The need for airports to give greater emphasis to their operational context to evaluate their performance objectively is emphasized. Many performance measures currently in use are output variables, usually quantitative andbasedon what is easy to measure rather than what is important to measure. The dysfunctional effects of measurement systems are considered, including the problems of discrepancies in the definition of key variables and of attempts to achieve direct comparability between airports.

The provision and accessibility of small business Web sites: a survey of independent UK breweries

This paper surveys the population of independent breweries in the UK to ascertain their Web site usage and accessibility via the Internet. It finds independent breweries have tended to lag similarly sized business in other sectors in the provision or abandonment of company Web sites. Most of their Web sites have intuitively easy URLs and are readily accessible via brewery directories, but are less accessible via popular search engines. Most are corporate Web sites rather than marketing or selling tools. The paper concludes with a discussion of business and policy implications for small businesses and the Internet.

LESSONS FROM AIRPORT PRIVATIZATION, COMMERCIALIZATION, AND REGULATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

The possible lessons of airport privatization, commercialization, and regulation in the United Kingdom (U.K.) are discussed. This is both timely and topical because of the huge financial pressures on governments to meet the infrastructure investments required to accommodate the forecasts of growth in air traffic and modernization such as new, larger aircraft. In response to these trends, the U.S. government and governments around the world have looked at the U.K. as a model of privatization. It was the first nation to privatize its airports, and a variety of ownership structures have been adopted. The history of privatization, commercialization, and regulation in the U.K. is traced, and important lessons are highlighted. Regulation may be the only policy lever available to shape a privatized and commercialized airport system and its role within a wider integrated transport strategy. The authors contend that a commercialized model of ownership similar to that at many U.K. municipal airports could be adopted in the United States, potentially relieving the financial pressure on the federal government to fund development. Countries need to have a strategic airports policy to guide development toward national, economic, and environmental goals.