This dissertation studies two major topics in air transportation. The first topic is related to the strategic behavior of multiproduct airports. Indeed, airports have been evolving into multiproduct firms that, on the one hand, offer aviation services to airlines and, on the other hand, offer commercial (non-aviation) services to passengers. In fact, commercial activities have turned out to be an important tool for airports to self-finance their business, as they tend to be more profitable than aeronautical activities. The two sides of airport business have complementary demands, in the sense that an increase in the demand for aviation services will increase the demand for commercial services at the airport and the consumption of commercial services may stimulate aviation demand. Though complementarity between aviation and commercial services of airports has been receiving increasing attention in the literature, investigations abstracted away from airport competition and non-passenger demand for commercial services. In this thesis, the effects that multiproduct airport competition and the supply of airport services to non-passengers have on the performance and the pricing structure of airports, as well as the implications these produce on passengers and social welfare, are studied analytically. Furthermore airport incentives to disclose (and discount) the price of commercial services online before departure are investigated. The aim is to build a better understanding of the impact of the commercial business on airport incentive to exploit market power, in order to extract lessons for the design of regulatory regimes for airports. \par The second topic is related to intermodal competition between air transport and high-speed rail (HSR). In fact, substitution of air transport by HSR has been supported by policy makers for environmental reasons, on the ground of the greenness of HSR on a per-seat basis. Nevertheless, the supply of HSR services does not necessarily benefit the environment, as it may result in higher level of traffic and lower load factors. The literature analyzed air-HSR substitution either from an empirical perspective or - if an analytical angle was adopted - within the scope of integration of the two modes. This thesis studies air transport-HSR competition analytically and incorporates speed and frequency of service as decision variables. The aim is to shed light on the basic mechanisms that regulate the impact of air transport and HSR competition on the environment and social welfare in order to extract insights for public policy.

Strategic Behavior of Multiproduct Airports and Air-Rail Intermodality / Bracaglia, Valentina. - ELETTRONICO. - (2016).

Strategic Behavior of Multiproduct Airports and Air-Rail Intermodality

BRACAGLIA, VALENTINA
01/01/2016

Abstract

This dissertation studies two major topics in air transportation. The first topic is related to the strategic behavior of multiproduct airports. Indeed, airports have been evolving into multiproduct firms that, on the one hand, offer aviation services to airlines and, on the other hand, offer commercial (non-aviation) services to passengers. In fact, commercial activities have turned out to be an important tool for airports to self-finance their business, as they tend to be more profitable than aeronautical activities. The two sides of airport business have complementary demands, in the sense that an increase in the demand for aviation services will increase the demand for commercial services at the airport and the consumption of commercial services may stimulate aviation demand. Though complementarity between aviation and commercial services of airports has been receiving increasing attention in the literature, investigations abstracted away from airport competition and non-passenger demand for commercial services. In this thesis, the effects that multiproduct airport competition and the supply of airport services to non-passengers have on the performance and the pricing structure of airports, as well as the implications these produce on passengers and social welfare, are studied analytically. Furthermore airport incentives to disclose (and discount) the price of commercial services online before departure are investigated. The aim is to build a better understanding of the impact of the commercial business on airport incentive to exploit market power, in order to extract lessons for the design of regulatory regimes for airports. \par The second topic is related to intermodal competition between air transport and high-speed rail (HSR). In fact, substitution of air transport by HSR has been supported by policy makers for environmental reasons, on the ground of the greenness of HSR on a per-seat basis. Nevertheless, the supply of HSR services does not necessarily benefit the environment, as it may result in higher level of traffic and lower load factors. The literature analyzed air-HSR substitution either from an empirical perspective or - if an analytical angle was adopted - within the scope of integration of the two modes. This thesis studies air transport-HSR competition analytically and incorporates speed and frequency of service as decision variables. The aim is to shed light on the basic mechanisms that regulate the impact of air transport and HSR competition on the environment and social welfare in order to extract insights for public policy.
2016
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/875085
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