IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ortrsc/v50y2016i1p166-179.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Hubs versus Airport Dominance

Author

Listed:
  • Volodymyr Bilotkach

    (Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom NE1 4SE)

  • Vivek Pai

    (Department of Economics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92617)

Abstract

We address the issue of the sources of dominant airlines' pricing power by separating the premium due to hub operations from that due to airport dominance. The presence of airports serving as hubs for two carriers enables such identification via difference-in-differences. Moving from lower to higher prices, the total pricing premium of hub operators (both dominant and nondominant) increases; while the share of the airport dominance premium diminishes relative to that of the hub premium. Absence of a hub premium at the lower end of the price distribution (and lack of dominance premium at the higher prices) suggests frequent flier programs rather than product differentiation as the likely dominant source of the hub operator's pricing power. The dominant airline's ability to charge higher fares due to either its airport market share or access to scarce airport facilities is confirmed.

Suggested Citation

  • Volodymyr Bilotkach & Vivek Pai, 2016. "Hubs versus Airport Dominance," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(1), pages 166-179, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ortrsc:v:50:y:2016:i:1:p:166-179
    DOI: 10.1287/trsc.2014.0530
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2014.0530
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/trsc.2014.0530?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Claudio A. Piga & Enrico Bachis, 2007. "Pricing strategies by European Low Cost Carriers," Discussion Paper Series 2007_10, Department of Economics, Loughborough University, revised Apr 2007.
    2. Bilotkach, Volodymyr & Lakew, Paulos Ashebir, 2014. "On sources of market power in the airline industry: Panel data evidence from the US airports," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 288-305.
    3. Claudio A. Piga & Enrico Bachis, 2006. "Pricing strategies by European traditional and low cost airlines. Or, when is it the best time to book on line?," Discussion Paper Series 2006_14, Department of Economics, Loughborough University, revised Jul 2006.
    4. Federico Ciliberto & Jonathan W. Williams, 2010. "Limited Access to Airport Facilities and Market Power in the Airline Industry," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(3), pages 467-495.
    5. Marin, Pedro L, 1995. "Competition in European Aviation: Pricing Policy and Market Structure," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(2), pages 141-159, June.
    6. Evans, William N & Kessides, Ioannis N, 1993. "Localized Market Power in the U.S. Airline Industry," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 75(1), pages 66-75, February.
    7. Germà Bel & Xavier Fageda, 2008. "Getting there fast: globalization, intercontinental flights and location of headquarters," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(4), pages 471-495, July.
    8. Lijesen, Mark G. & Rietveld, Piet & Nijkamp, Peter, 2001. "Hub premiums in European civil aviation," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 193-199, July.
    9. Volodymyr Bilotkach, 2007. "Asymmetric Regulation and Airport Dominance in International Aviation: Evidence from the London-new York Market," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 74(2), pages 505-523, October.
    10. Darin Lee & María José Luengo-Prado, 2005. "The Impact of Passenger Mix on Reported “Hub Premiums” in the U.S. Airline Industry," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 72(2), pages 372-394, October.
    11. Severin Borenstein, 1991. "The Dominant-Firm Advantage in Multiproduct Industries: Evidence from the U. S. Airlines," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(4), pages 1237-1266.
    12. Severin Borenstein, 1989. "Hubs and High Fares: Dominance and Market Power in the U.S. Airline Industry," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 20(3), pages 344-365, Autumn.
    13. Mara Lederman, 2008. "Are Frequent‐Flyer Programs a Cause of the “Hub Premium”?," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(1), pages 35-66, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Luttmann, Alexander & Ladd, Daniel, 2023. "Loyalty rewards and redemption behavior: Stylized facts for the U.S. airline industry," MPRA Paper 119214, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Gaggero, Alberto A. & Luttmann, Alexander, 2023. "The determinants of hidden-city ticketing: Competition, hub-and-spoke networks, and advance-purchase requirements," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gerben de Jong & Christiaan Behrens & Hester van Herk & Erik Verhoef, 2019. "Domestic Market Power in the International Airline Industry," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(3), pages 796-810, May.
    2. Bilotkach, Volodymyr & Lakew, Paulos Ashebir, 2014. "On sources of market power in the airline industry: Panel data evidence from the US airports," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 288-305.
    3. Luttmann, Alexander, 2019. "Evidence of directional price discrimination in the U.S. airline industry," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 291-329.
    4. Chen, Ruowei & Lei, Zheng, 2017. "Airport dominance and airline pricing power: An investigation of hub premiums in the Chinese domestic market," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 509-524.
    5. Yuen, Andrew Chi Lok & Lei, Zheng & Chow, Clement Kong Wing & Fung, Michael Ka Yiu, 2017. "Could market power explain hub premiums?," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(PA), pages 55-59.
    6. Agostini, Claudio A. & Inostroza, Diego & Willington, Manuel, 2015. "Price effects of airlines frequent flyer programs: The case of the dominant firm in Chile," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 283-297.
    7. Volodymyr Bilotkach, 2015. "Are airports engines of economic development? A dynamic panel data approach," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(9), pages 1577-1593, July.
    8. Fageda, Xavier, 2014. "What hurts the dominant airlines at hub airports?," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 177-189.
    9. Brueckner, Jan K. & Lee, Darin & Singer, Ethan S., 2013. "Airline competition and domestic US airfares: A comprehensivereappraisal," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 1-17.
    10. Yahua Zhang & David Round, 2009. "Policy Implications of the Effects of Concentration and Multimarket Contact in China’s Airline Market," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 34(4), pages 307-326, June.
    11. Mara Lederman, 2007. "Do enhancements to loyalty programs affect demand? The impact of international frequent flyer partnerships on domestic airline demand," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 38(4), pages 1134-1158, December.
    12. Fu, Xiaowen & Homsombat, Winai & Oum, Tae H., 2011. "Airport–airline vertical relationships, their effects and regulatory policy implications," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 347-353.
    13. Manuela Jr., Wilfred S. & Rhoades, Dawna L. & Curtis, Tamilla, 2019. "Market power at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport: The case of Alaska Airlines," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 90-99.
    14. Bet, Germán, 2021. "Product specification under a threat of entry: Evidence from Airlines’ departure times," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    15. Gil, Ricard & Kim, Myongjin, 2021. "Does competition increase quality? Evidence from the US airline industry," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    16. Bilotkach, Volodymyr & Gorodnichenko, Yuriy & Talavera, Oleksandr, 2010. "Are airlines' price-setting strategies different?," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 1-6.
    17. Oliveira, Marcus V.R. & Oliveira, Alessandro V.M., 2018. "What drives effective competition in the airline industry? An empirical model of city-pair market concentration," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 165-175.
    18. Tan, Kerry M. & Samuel, Andrew, 2016. "The effect of de-hubbing on airfares," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 45-52.
    19. Forbes, Silke J., 2008. "The effect of air traffic delays on airline prices," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 1218-1232, September.
    20. Roucolle, Chantal & Seregina, Tatiana & Urdanoz, Miguel, 2020. "Measuring the development of airline networks: Comprehensive indicators," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 303-324.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ortrsc:v:50:y:2016:i:1:p:166-179. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.