Scheduling of Commercial Air Movements: The Airline Point of View

Extract

The Airline is satisfying a demand, a demand for transportation. Such transportation is not something in itself—people do not simply go for the ride—but is part of a bigger demand. The airline attempts to create, stimulate and, to some extent, change this demand by tariff and other means but nevertheless it is attempting to satisfy a naked demand as it arises. If the demand is for 8 a.m. out of Glasgow, we as an airline—contrary to popular opinion— attempt to satisfy the demand at that time within the overall context of profitability. In a competitive situation—and this includes competition with other forms of transport, not simply air, as well as other forms of consumer expenditure—the airline's ability to take of this demand what suits it and ignore the rest, is strictly limited. The success of an airline depends upon the efficiency with which it satisfies this demand.