Route development in a crisis

There can be no doubt that the airport and airline industry has faced enormous turbulence in recent years, lurching from one crisis to another. These have ranged from the manmade financial meltdown and the following recessionary impact affecting many global economies, to natural phenomena embracing global health scares through to the recent Icelandic volcanic eruption, which saw the grounding of around 25 per cent of the world's aircraft for almost a week. The airline business has never been known for its financial and organisational stability and the external shocks described have compounded its volatility. There have been many failures right across the airline spectrum from full-service carriers, to low-cost airlines, to business-class only operators, to niche players. This leads to the inevitable question: how do airports successfully develop routes and work with airlines against such a challenging backdrop? This paper will provide an insight into what airports can do to avoid being taken by surprise by problems with existing airline clients, how they can ascertain the appropriate airlines to partner with and how best to develop sustainable route networks.