Air transport industry finance, with its complexity and special needs such as route rights, airport slots, aircraft leasing options and frequent flyer programmes, requires specific knowledge. While there are numerous financial management and corporate finance texts available, few of these provide explanations for the singularities of the airline industry with worked examples drawn directly from the industry itself. Revised and updated in its third edition, this internationally renowned and respected book provides the essentials to understanding all areas of airline finance. Designed to address each of the distinct areas of financial management in an air transport industry context, it also shows how these fit together, while each chapter and topic provides a detailed resource which can be also consulted separately. Supported at each stage by practical airline examples, it examines the financial trends and prospects for the airline industry as a whole, contrasting the developments for the major regions and airlines. Important techniques in financial analysis are applied to the airline industry, together with critical discussion of key issues. Thoroughly amended and updated throughout, the third edition reflects the many developments that have affected the industry since 2001. It features several important new topics, including Low Cost Carriers (LCCs), fuel hedging and US Chapter 11 provisions. The sections on financial statements and privatisation have been expanded, and a new chapter has been added on equity finance and IPOs. New case studies have been added, as well as the latest available financial data. The range and perspective is even greater than before, with significant expansion of material specific to the US and Asia. The book is a key resource for students of airline management, and a sophisticated and authoritative guide for analysts in financial institutions and consultancies, executives in airlines and related industries, and civil aviation departments.

The air transport industry has high economic impact; it supports more than 60 million jobs worldwide. Since the early years of commercial air travel, passenger numbers have grown tremendously. However, for decades airlines’ financial results have been swinging between profits and losses. The airline industry’s aggregate net average profit between 1970 and 2010 was close to zero, which implies bankruptcies and layoffs in downturns. The profit cycle’s amplitude has been rising over time, which means that problems have become increasingly severe and also shows that the industry may not have learned from the past. More stable financial results could not only facilitate airline management decisions and improve investors’ confidence but also preserve employment. This book offers a thorough understanding of the airline profit cycle’s causes and drivers, and it presents measures to achieve a higher and more stable profitability level. This is the first in-depth examination of the airline profit cycle. The airline industry is modelled as a complex dynamic system, which is used for quantitative simulations of ‘what if’ scenarios. These experiments reveal that the general economic environment, such as GDP or fuel price developments, influence the airline industry’s profitability pattern as well as certain regulations or aircraft manufactures’ policies. Yet despite all circumstances, simulations show that airlines’ own management decisions are sufficient to generate higher and more stable profits in the industry. This book is useful for aviation industry decision makers, investors, policy makers, and researchers because it explains why the airline industry earns or loses money. This knowledge will advance forecasting and market intelligence. Furthermore, the book offers practitioners different suggestions to sustainably improve the airline industry’s profitability. The book is also recommended as a case study for system analysis as well as industry cyclicality at graduate or postgraduate level for courses such as engineering, economics, or management.

In recent years the airline industry has experienced severe volatility in earnings, with airlines recording periods of substantial profits that are closely followed by periods of financial distress. This trend has continued into the new millennium, with numerous examples of airlines across the globe entering bankruptcy protection or liquidating. The text provides an introduction to both the basics of finance and the particular intricacies of airline finance where there can be significant fluctuations in both revenues and costs. This new edition also includes: capital budgeting management of current assets financial risk analysis fuel hedging aircraft leasing This textbook contains chapters that cover unique aspects of the aviation financial decision-making process. These include a rigorous and structured presentation of the buy versus lease decision that is prevalent in the industry, a valuation process for aviation assets, the recent trend toward privatization and the difficulty inherent in the valuation of a publicly-owned or semi-publicly owned asset. The Foundations of Airline Finance, now in its second edition, is an introductory text that can be used either as a general financial text or in a specialized class that deals with aviation finance in particular.

Although introductions to courses in finance exist for a variety of fields, Robert W. Kaps provides the first text to address the subject from an aviation viewpoint. Relying on his vast experience--twenty-plus years in the airline industry and more than thirty years in aviation--Kaps seeks not only to prepare students for careers in the aviation field but also to evoke in these students an excitement about the business. Specifically, he shows students how airlines, airports, and aviation are financed. Each chapter contains examples and illustrations and ends with suggested readings and references. Following his discussion of financial management and accounting procedures, Kaps turns to financial management and sources of financial information. Here he discusses types of business organizations, corporate goals, business ethics, maximizing share price, and sources of financial information. Kaps also covers debt markets, financial statements, air transport sector revenue generation, and air transport operating cost management, including cost administration and labor costs, fuel, and landing fees and rentals. He describes in depth air transport yield management systems and airport financing, including revenues, ownership, operations, revenue generation, funding, allocation of Air Improvement Program funds, bonds, and passenger facility charges. Kaps concludes with a discussion of the preparation of a business plan, which includes advice about starting and running a business. He also provides two typical business plan outlines. While the elements of fiscal management in aviation follow generally accepted accounting principles, many nuances are germane only to the airline industry. Kaps provides a basic understanding of the principles that are applicable throughout the airline industry.

This title presents a flexible valuation and decision-making tool for financial planners, airlines, lease companies, bankers, insurance companies, and aircraft manufacturers.

This third edition of Straight and Level thoroughly updates the previous edition with extensive comments on recent industry developments and emerging business models. The discussion is illustrated by current examples drawn from all sectors of the industry and every region of the world. The fundamental structure of earlier editions, now widely used as a framework for air transport management courses, nonetheless remains unchanged. Part 1 of the book provides a strategic context within which to consider the industry's economics. Part 2 is built around a simple yet powerful model that relates operating revenue to operating cost; it examines the most important elements in demand and traffic, price and yield, output and unit cost. Part 3 probes more deeply into three critical aspects of capacity management: network management; fleet management; and revenue management. Part 4 concludes the book by exploring relationships between unit revenue, unit cost, yield, and load factor. Straight and Level has been written primarily for masters-level students on aviation management courses. The book should also be useful to final year undergraduates wanting to prepare for more advanced study. Amongst practitioners, it will appeal to established managers moving from functional posts into general management. More broadly, anyone with knowledge of the airline industry who wants to gain a deeper understanding of its economics at a practical level and an insight into the reasons for its financial volatility should find the book of interest.