Abstract This paper provides a data based analysis of FedEx air freighter activities from selected hub locations. The basic idea is that air freighters have a set of range and payload parameters and their corresponding fuel burn depends on weight and distance. Data from 2011 to 12 (FlightAware) are used for 180,000 + flights on origin, destination and aircraft type. The particular aircraft vary widely in payload, but additional parameters may be derived from industry web sites and BTS. The research uses flight activity at hubs such as Memphis and Indianapolis (among others) and computes the aggregate distance flown on specific aircraft. The linkage between the hub and aggregate fuel use (assuming that the out bound flights are allocated to the hub) will give some quantifiable measures of the costs allocated to the hub. The paper examines particular aspects of the air freight system that are especially vulnerable to a spike in the costs of aviation fuel. These observations suggest that traffic to regional air express and air freight hubs is likely to respond in complex ways to fuel costs.
Highlights An approximation of the FedEx system aircraft fuel usage, from data on their aircraft operations, is developed. Using simple additive models of over 180,000 flights, fuel consumption is captured. Aircraft type usage is shown to vary across hubs such as Memphis, Indianapolis, Oakland, Newark, and Anchorage. FedEx aircraft deployment reflects constraints on available aircraft, and is expected to adjust with more efficient aircraft.
Air freight hubs in the FedEx system: Analysis of fuel use
Journal of Air Transport Management ; 36 ; 1-12
2013-01-01
12 pages
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
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