Authors: Wei W.; Hansen M.

Source: Journal of Transport Economics and Policy (JTEP), Volume 37, Number 2, 1 May 2003 , pp. 279-296(18)

Publisher: Journal of Transport Economics and Policy

Abstract:

The authors study the relationship between aircraft cost and size for large commercial passenger jets. Based on a translog model, they develop an econometric cost function for aircraft operating cost and find that economies of aircraft size and stage length exist at the sample mean of their data set, and that for any given stage length there is an optimal size, which increases with stage length. The scale properties of the cost function are changed considerably if pilot unit cost is treated as endogenous, since it is correlated with size. The cost-minimising aircraft size is therefore considerably smaller, particularly at short stage lengths, when pilot cost is treated as endogenous, and this helps to explain why US airlines expect to accommodate future traffic growth with more flights instead of larger planes.

References: 5 references open in new window

Articles that cite this article?

Document Type: Research article

Publication date: 2003-05-01

More about this publication?

• JTEP is international both in terms of authors and readership. Since it first appeared, more than 650 papers have been published from Europe, North America, the Pacific Rim/Australasia, Africa, Asia, and South America. This international variety is also reflected in the readership.

  Published three times a year, the journal covers all modes of transport and a wide variety of economic themes, including: Passenger Transport, Freight Transport, Shipping, Aviation, Transport Infrastructure, Environment & Energy, Traffic, Planning and Policy, Safety, Costs & Pricing, Competition, Evaluation, Productivity, Demand & Elasticities, Service Quality, Economies of Scale, Economics Regulation and Choice.

  A complete indexing and article service is available FREE from 1967 to 2000

• Editorial Board
• Submit a Paper
• Subscribe to this Title
• Library Recommendation Form
• About us
• ingentaconnect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites

Related content

• In this: publication
• By this: publisher
• In this Subject: Economics ,  Transportation
• By this author: Wei W. ;  Hansen M.

Website © Publishing Technology. Article copyright remains with the publisher, society or author(s) as specified within the article.

• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Information for advertisers