Air Transport Management at the DLR Institute of Air Transport
Credit:
Thor Jorgen Udvang – stock.adobe.com
Business Perspectives for Aviation
How are airlines and airports evolving in the face of new technologies, changing markets, and growing societal expectations? This is the central question guiding the work of the Air Transport Management Department.
Our Work in Air Transport Management
Our research focuses on the economic analysis and optimisation of aviation enterprises. As a business management competence centre within DLR, we analyse and design processes, evaluate innovations, and develop strategies for an efficient, connected, and future-ready air transport system. We consider both internal company processes and intermodal connections in close cooperation with other DLR transport institutes.
Our Research Priorities
Our work includes the following key areas:
Business Analysis: We study airlines and airports as commercial entities, compare their performance using microeconomic criteria, and develop optimisation approaches.
Mathematical Process Optimisation for Airlines: We model and optimise key operational processes such as network and fleet planning, scheduling, rotations, crew rostering, and revenue management, with a focus on increasing efficiency and adaptability.
Digitalisation and Connectivity: We apply data science methods to digitalise and interlink aviation processes and enhance collaboration among stakeholders.
Innovation Assessment in Fleet Operations: We examine how new technologies and concepts impact network and fleet operations, schedules, and passenger flows. We derive requirements for emerging technologies based on nuanced operational aviation contexts. Our analyses contribute to impact assessments both at the fleet level and globally.
Development of New Business Models: We support aviation enterprises in developing strategies and business models in response to technological, regulatory, and market changes.
Intermodal Transport Topics: We explore cooperation and competition between different modes of transport as well as the role of alternative energy sources.
Methods and Approach
The department specialises in the application and development of methods in business evaluation, operations research, and data science to address questions within the aviation sector.
Depending on the research question, we use a variety of methods, including:
Financial models
Optimisation models
Discrete choice models
Simulations
Machine learning techniques
Surveys and expert interviews
Our research is based on a comprehensive international data foundation, including information on flight schedules, passenger flows, booking data, and aircraft fleets, enabling realistic analyses and modelling.
