Influence of Capacity Constraints on Airline Fleet Mix

Abstract

This report documents the findings of research sponsored by the Los Angeles World Airports to examine the influence of airport capacity constraints on airline fleet mix and to explore the potential effects of policy options to influence airlines to use larger aircraft types and thereby accommodate growth in passenger or cargo demand without a corresponding increase in the number of aircraft operations. This issue is of growing importance at many major airports in the United States and indeed around the world, as a steadily increasing demand for air transportation has resulted in volumes of air traffic that are approaching the capacity of the existing airport infrastructure, resulting in the prospect of significantly greater levels of aircraft delay in the future. At the same time, environmental and other concerns are limiting the ability of airports to construct additional runways to increase their airside capacity.