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This paper presents a model of second-degree price discrimination and intergroup effects. Consumer heterogeneity is assumed on both a horizontal and a vertical dimension, while various distinct market structures, some of which include low-cost carriers (LCCs), are considered. We theoretically show that the rivalry among full-service carriers (FSCs) usually reduces the distance between business and leisure fares. The rivalry with an LCC increases this distance causing a reduction of leisure fares and, possibly, an increase of business fares. We test these implications using data concerning the early stage of low-cost entry in Italy on European routes. The empirical results largely support our theoretical findings.

This paper investigates the price-setting behavior of full-service airlines in the European passenger aviation market. We develop a model of airline competition, which accommodates various market structures, some of which include low-cost players. Using data on published airfares of Lufthansa, British Airways, Alitalia and KLM for the main city-pairs from Italy to the rest of Europe, our empirical findings substantially confirm the propositions of the theoretical model. We find that competition among full-service carriers appears to affect the price levels of the business and the leisure segments asymmetrically: there are small reductions in the leisure segments and significant reductions in the business segment of the aviation market. In contrast, competition with low-cost carriers reduces both the business and leisure fares of full-service carriers quite uniformly, with an emphasis on the mid-segment fares. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

The MYTILOS project aimed at drawing up a preliminary report on coastal chemical contamination at the scale of the Western Mediterranean (continental coasts of the Balearic Islands, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and Maghreb) based on a transplanted mussels methodology validated along the French coasts since 1996 by Ifremer and the Rhône Méditerranée & Corsica water board. MYTILOS is backed up by the INTERREG III B/MEDOC programme, the PNUE/PAM-MEDPOL and Rhône Méditerranée & Corsica water board. Three cruises (2004, 2005, 2006) have taken place to assess the first state of chemical contamination along the Western Mediterranean shores with the same methodology. Approximately 120 days were spent at sea deploying and retrieving 123 mussel bags. The results obtained for all studied contaminants were equivalent to those obtained along the French coast according the RINBIO network. These similarities relate to both the highest measured levels and background levels throughout the 123 stations. The areas of greatest impact were mainly urban and industrial centers and the outlets of major rivers, with a far higher midsea impact on the dilution of organic compounds than on metals. Metal levels measured in midsea zones were found to be similar to those in natural shellfish populations living along the coast. On a global scale we can observe that the contaminants levels in the Mediterranean Sea are in the same range as in other areas worldwide. Overall, the research demonstrates the reliability of this methodology for marine pollution monitoring, especially in the Mediterranean sea. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Information, communication and transport networks have always been in a state of flux, while they also influence each other. Extensive research efforts have been made to investigate the dynamics in the structure and use of networks, e.g., by means of network geometries, small-world effects and scale-free phenomena. We will illustrate these new developments on the basis of airline network evolution. The present paper provides a new contribution to the analysis of topological properties of complex airline networks. Using Lufthansa's networks as an example, this paper aims to show the empirical relevance of various network indicators - such as connectivity and concentration - for understanding changing patterns in airline network configurations. After an extensive discussion of various statistical results, a decision-aid method, viz. multi-criteria analysis, is used to investigate the robustness of our findings. The results highlight the actual strategic choices made by Lufthansa for its own network, as well in combination with its partners in Star Alliance.

The Mytilos project was carried during the last 3 years (2004-2006) in order to evaluate the level of chemical contamination along the coasts of the western basin of the Mediterranean Sea. Active mussel watch consisted of caged (12 weeks) Mytilus galloprovincialis at 123 stations along the Mediterranean coasts of Spain, France, Italy, North Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Results indicated total PAHs levels in the range 22-106 μg/kg dry weight. All large towns or industrial areas from all countries of the basin were affected. Analysis of the origin of contamination demonstrated mainly a pyrolytic origin except in some areas such as Maddalena, Napoli, Alger, and Cornigliano (Genova). Statistical analysis of the PAHs accumulation data enabled the characterisation and ranking of each coastal area. The overall results give scientific and technical basis for large-scale monitoring of the PAH contamination in the entire western Mediterranean basin. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V., This research was supported by EEC (Interreg/medoccIIIC/MYTILOS). INRH (Morocco), ISMAL (Algeria) and INSTM (Tunisia) were supported by UNEP MEDPOL.

The paper identifies conditions under which asymmetric equilibria may exist when carriers compete in designing their network configurations in a game-theoretical framework. Two carriers are assumed here, which are allowed to play three different strategies: Point-to-point (PP), hub-and-spoke (HS) or multi-hub. We find two main stable outcomes, which depend on the size of the internal market. First, when the internal markets are small, PP network strategies are played by both carriers, while for a specific subset of parameters a collusive equilibrium in a HS configuration can be derived. Second, when the size of the internal markets is large, asymmetric configurations, where one carrier chooses a HS strategy and the other chooses a PP strategy, are the only stable equilibria. The result can be used to describe the coexistence of alternative business models that have recently emerged in the aviation industry: The established full-service model based on the HS system and the recent low-cost model based on the PP system. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The paper analyses the reorganisation that European carriers have implemented after September 11 in the transatlantic flights. We model carriers’ conduct as a mixture of short- and long-term goals, where the weights depend on firm-specific variables (adjustment costs, financial situation) and subjective expectations on the crisis duration. Data provide some support to our conjectures that high adjustment costs induce low flexibility and a focus on the long-term; and that a bad financial situation shifts the carries attention to short-term. Finally, the analysis of the composition of short- and long-term reaction provides some insights into the carriers’ perspectives of the crisis duration.

This paper presents a model of second-degree price discrimination and inter-group effects to describe the full-service pricing behaviour in the passenger aviation market. Consumer heterogeneity is assumed on both a horizontal and a vertical dimension, while various distinct market structures, some of which include low-cost carriers (LCCs), are considered. In the theoretical model framework, we derive that the rivalry between full-service carriers (FSCs) reduces fare differences between the business and leisure segments. Furthermore, the presence of LCCs increases fare gaps between leisure and business travellers, and it also induces FSCs to decrease fares in the leisure segment and eventually to increase them in the business one. This last outcome emerges from a change in passenger arrangements caused by inter-group effects. In our empirical analysis, we use data on published airfares of Lufthansa, British Airways, KLM and Alitalia for the main city-pairs from Italy to Germany, the UK and the Netherlands. Our results show that the empirical results provide support for our theoretical propositions.

Autores: Benedicto, José ... [et al.]. -- 11 páginas, 3 figuras, 1 tabla, A large scale study of trace metal contamination (Hg, Cd, Pb and Ni) by means of caged mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis was undertaken along the coastal waters of the Western Mediterranean Sea within the context of the MYTILOS project. Individual mussels from an homogeneous population (shell size 50 ± 5 mm) obtained from an aquaculture farm were consecutively caged and deployed at 123 sites located in the Alborán, North-Western, South-Western and Tyrrhenian sub-basins for 12 weeks (April–July) in 2004, 2005 and 2006. After cage recoveries, both the metal content in the whole mussel tissue and the allometric parameters were measured. Statistical analysis of the datasets showed significant differences in concentrations between sub-basins for some metals and mussel condition index (CI). Linear regression models coupled to the CI were revisited for the data adjustment of certain trace metals (Hg, Cd and Ni), and four level categories were statistically derived to facilitate interregional comparison. Seawater masses surrounding coastal areas impacted by run-off from land mineralised coasts and industrial activities displayed the highest concentration ranges (Hg: 0.15–0.31 mg kg−1 dw; Cd: 1.97–2.11; Ni: 2.18–3.20 and Pb: 3.1–3.8), although the levels obtained in most of the sites fitted within moderate or low categories, and they could be considered as baseline concentrations. However, few sites considered little-influenced by human activities, at present, showed high concentrations of Cd, Ni and Pb, which constitute new areas of concern. Overall, the use of active biomonitoring (ABM) approach allowed to investigate trace metal contamination in order to support policy makers in establishing regional strategies (particularly, with regard to the European Marine Strategy Directive)., Esta investigación ha sido financiada por el EEC (Proyecto Interreg/MedoccIIIB/MYTILOS). El Programa UNEP MEDPOL ha subvencionado a: INRH (Marruecos), ESSMAL (Algeria) e INSTM (Túnez).

Published fares London–Amsterdam are used to examine the pricing practices of low-cost and legacy carriers when operating in a large and crowded market. We investigate two strategies of market segmentation involving the time before departure the ticket has been bought, inter-temporal segmentation, and the duration of the stay, implicit segmentation. We find inter-temporal price discrimination emerges as an important strategy for all pricing but the two legacy carriers involved, British Airways and KLM, differ in their use of stay restrictions; British Airways does not assign a specific role to the duration of stay, while KLM make use of such rules extensively in price setting.

Information, communication and transport networks have always been in a state of flux, while they also influence each other. Extensive research efforts have been made to investigate the dynamics in the structure and use of networks, e.g., by means of network geometries, small-world effects and scale-free phenomena. We will illustrate these new developments on the basis of airline network evolution. The present paper provides a new contribution to the analysis of topological properties of complex airline networks. Using Lufthansa's networks as an example, this paper aims to show the empirical relevance of various network indicators - such as connectivity and concentration - for understanding changing patterns in airline network configurations. After an extensive discussion of various statistical results, a decision-aid method, viz. multi-criteria analysis, is used to investigate the robustness of our findings. The results highlight the actual strategic choices made by Lufthansa for its own network, as well in combination with its partners in Star Alliance.

Autores: Scarpato, Alfonso ... [et al.]. -- 12 páginas, 7 figuras, 1 tabla, In order to evaluate the contamination levels in the Western Mediterranean basin, the active mussel watch methodology has been applied. This methodology consists of mussel transplantation (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from non impacted areas to selected coastal areas, characterised by potential impact from the continent due to contaminating sources. The areas of interest were selected along the entire coastal development of the Western Mediterranean sea, 122 sites in total. The time of mussel caging exposure was 12 weeks. The project was co-financed in the frame of the Interreg IIIB Meddoc Programme, aimed at determining the overall chemical quality of the Mediterranean sea, consistent with the Water Framework Directive 2000/60. Several partners representative of the coastal Mediterranean Countries were involved in the Project, with the purpose of building up a common surveillance network, adopting shared methodologies. In this paper we present the results of three yearly monitoring campaigns (2004, 2005, 2006) carried out along the coasts of Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, including the coastal environment of Baleares, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. The contamination levels of Pesticides (DDT and its metabolites, Hexachlorocyclohexane isomers α and γ) and Polychlorinated biphenyls, are reported and discussed. Statistical elaborations performed on the original data set were mainly aimed at validating the raw sample distributions, by means of the Johnson method. Both DD and PCB species frequency distributions have been approximated to appropriate theoretical distributions, belonging to the Log-normal and Bounded families. By integrating the related Probability Density Functions (p.d.f.), different accumulation values for DDT, DDD and DDE and PCB species have been estimated, corresponding to fixed percentage points of the area under the respective curves. By choosing appropriate probability level boundaries (33rd and 66th percentile), different regional zones have been ranked in terms of low, medium and high accumulation for Pesticides and PCBs., Esta investigación ha sido financiada por la Comunidad Económica Europea (EEC) (Interreg/ MedoccIIIC). Marruecos, Algeria y Túnez fueron financiados por UNEP MEDPOL.

Air transport networks have exhibited a trend towards complex dynamics in recent years. Using Lufthansa’s networks as an example, this paper aims to illustrate the relevance of various network indicators – such as connectivity and concentration – for the empirical analysis of airline network configurations. The results highlight the actual strategic choices made by Lufthansa for its own net-work, as well in combination with its partners in Star Alliance.

Network analysis has already a long history in operations research and quantitative social science research. In the past, much attention has been paid to shortest-route algorithms (for example, the travelling salesman problem), where the spatial configuration of networks was put in the centre of empirical investigation. Integer programming, linear and nonlinear programming turned out to offer a proper analytical toolbox. In recent years, we have seen several new trends, in particular, the rise of hub-and-spoke systems in liberalized networks, the emergence of dynamic adjustments to new competitive conditions and the increase in complexity in international networks. Furthermore, it appears that in the past decades many social, spatial and economic systems show an organized pattern characterized by network features, such as transportation, telecommunication, information or energy systems. As a consequence, much attention has recently been paid to the study of network properties emerging in many social, spatial and economic fields, as witnessed by the vast amount of literature published in the past years. Air transport is a prominent example of modern network constellations and will be addressed in this paper from a connectivity perspective. Air transport shows indeed clear network features, which impact on the way single airline carriers operate. The abundant scientific literature on airline networks has addressed this topic in terms of theoretical modelling and empirical measurements on different typologies of airline network configurations. This strand of recent research aimed to measure the network structure in relation to the effects of: (a) the market deregulation in United States in 1978 and in the European Union in the 1990s, (b) new trends in recent airline business strategies denoted as ‘low cost’ principles. Low cost carriers developed rather fast after the deregulation policy, by acquiring a competitive network advantage on traditional airlines, which consequently seemed to reorganise rapidly their airline network to respond to the new market dynamics. In this context, interesting research has emerged that mainly addressed the issue of describing and classifying networks by means of geographical concentration indices of traffic or flight frequency. These measures, such as the Gini concentration index or the Theil index, provide a proper measure of frequency or traffic concentration of the main airports in a simple, well-organized network. However, if a real-world network structure is complex, including multi-hub or mixed point-to-point and hub-spokes connections, the concentration indices may record high values for all types of structure, but fail to clearly discriminate between different network shapes. There is a need for a more appropriate measurement of connectivity structures in complex networks. Starting from the above considerations and research challenges, the present paper aims to investigate the scientific potential and applicability of a series of network connectivity/concentration indices, in order to properly typify and map out complex airline network configurations. Specifically, these various network indicators will be adopted and tested to describe the main properties – in terms of the network connectivity and configuration – of Lufthansa’s airline system.

Airlines network choices are analysed to describe the co-existence of alternative business models: the full service model based on the hub-and-spoke (HS) system and the low cost model based on point-to-point (PP) system. The analysis is carried on both theoretically and empirically. In the theoretical part, we show that the rise of the low costs business model can be the consequence of a simple two-player game. When two carriers compete in designing their network configurations (HS or PP), asymmetric equilibria emerge, i.e. one carrier will choose HS and the other PP. Full service carriers are stuck to a HS configuration to serve intercontinental destinations, whilst non-flag carriers implement a point-to-point network. In the second part, the recent network evolution in Europe is empirically evaluated by means of different spatial measures of concentration, such as Gini index, Freeman centrality index and Bonacich centrality. In addition, we also provide an airline-specific measure of centrality based on scheduled time comparison of direct to one-stop services. Spatial measures of centrality capture a reduction of centrality in non-flag carriers and small changes in the network centrality of flag carriers. Indeed, the time-based measure of centrality suggests an increase of centrality of flag carriers.

This paper investigates the response of full service carriers (FSCs) to the entry of low-cost carriers (LCCs). We develop a model of airline competition, which accommodates various market structures, some of which include low-cost players. Using data on published airfares of Lufthansa, British Airways, Alitalia and KLM for the main city-pairs from Italy to the rest of Europe, our statistical modelling results confirm the conclusions of the theoretical model. Competition among FSCs appears to affect the price levels of business and leisure segments asymmetrically. In contrast, competition with LCCs reduces the fares of FSCs in all classes proportionally.

Travel Behaviour is a challenging and original volume, adding to the growing literature focusing on understanding transportation systems. The book capitalises on actual scientific and applied developments in Europe, the importance of EC policies and the resultant trend in studying differences between North American and European research.

Travel Behaviour is a challenging and original volume, adding to the growing literature focusing on understanding transportation systems. The book capitalises on actual scientific and applied developments in Europe, the importance of EC policies and the resultant trend in studying differences between North American and European research.