Airline Jet Fuel Hedging: Theory and Practice

Abstract

Most international airlines hedge fuel costs, but the theoretical justification behind this action is weak. The paper explores the nature and extent of airline fuel hedging and asks why airlines hedge. The availability of hedging instruments is first discussed, with the most liquid markets in crude and exchange traded contracts. Aviation fuel contracts are possible, but with counter‐party risk. Most major passenger airlines with sufficient cash and credit now hedge at least part of their future needs. Hedging does protect profits against a sudden upturn in crude prices caused by political and consumer uncertainty leading to slower economic growth. However, if higher oil prices are induced by strong economic growth and oil supply constraints, hedging increases volatility with hedging gains reinforcing improved profits from higher traffic and improved yields. If hedging does not reduce volatility, it may still have an accounting role in moving profits from one time period to another, insure against bankruptcy, and signal the competence of management to investors and other stakeholders.     

Book reviews

Practice, Politics and Policies—"The Politics of Transport”. By Enid Wistrich. (Harlow, Essex: Longman Group Limited, 1983.) [Pp. 185, with index.] £4·25.

Econometric Analysis and Railway Costing. By W. G. Waters, II and A. D. Woodland. (North Oxford Academic, 1984.) [Pp.132.] £12·95.     

Port Economics,Policy and Management: Content Classification and Survey

This paper presents a taxonomy and analysis of the content of published research in port economics, policy and management (port studies). The recent increase of these publications suggests a growing interest in the study of ports. However, the research characteristics and directions of this research field are unidentified. This paper provides a systematic analysis of port studies published during the period 1997–2008. A comprehensive cross-citation and analysis of the themes, approaches and findings of all 395 relevant journal papers identifies the extent to which the research field is maturing, and the leading papers. This paper also presents an extensive analysis of the content, based on the classification of all port studies into seven research themes. For each theme, research topics, widely used research questions, concepts and research methods and the most important research findings are discussed. Finally, we identify emerging research challenges and research questions that still need to be answered.     

Corporatisation and Performance: A Literature Review and an Analysis of the Performance Effects of the Corporatisation of Port of Rotterdam Authority

Abstract

The ongoing process of port reform has led to an increasing number of publicly owned but corporatised port authorities (PAs). The performance effects of corporatisation have been analysed, for example, for the airports industry, often showing positive effects. This paper reviews the literature on port reform and the relationship between port governance structures and performance. It also presents a first case study on the effects of corporatisation of PAs, namely for the Port of Rotterdam Authority, a publicly owned but corporatised port development company. In 2004, this organisation was transformed from a municipal department to an independently operating company. The performance indicators to evaluate the effect of this corporatisation include market share, turnover, operating costs, profits, and investments. These indicators are evaluated for two periods, one prior to the corporatisation (1997–2003) and the other afterwards (2005–11). The comparison of these two periods shows that corporatisation has led to significant improvements of all performance indicators. The findings derived from this case study are relevant for the ongoing discussion on port governance models.     

Combining Intermodal Transport With Electric Vehicles: Towards More Sustainable Solutions

Abstract

This paper analyses the feasibility of incorporating electric or hybrid vehicles in intermodal transport for the transportation of containers in the pre- and post haulage (PPH) operation. In Europe, the intermodal transport market is being strongly supported, as it is seen as one of the keystones of a sustainable mobility system policy. The introduction of environmentally friendly electric/hybrid vehicles for the pre- and post haulage operation would mean a further enhancement leading to a more complete ecological intermodal transport chain. PPH operations are usually no longer than 30 km, and, hence, could possibly be handled by electric or hybrid vehicles.

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) combine electric and other drive systems, such as internal combustion engines, gas turbines and fuel cells. Hybrid electric vehicles merge the zero pollution and high efficiency benefits of electric traction with the high fuel energy density benefits of an energy source or thermal engine. The use of electrically driven vehicles for goods distribution has already been successfully proven in international demonstration projects, such as ELCIDIS. Transport of intermodal units (such as ISO containers), however, requires electric/hybrid heavy-duty goods vehicles, which are not readily available on the market, but for which the technology exists.

Different possibilities are assessed as to their technical, financial, organizational and environmental feasibility and suitability. This analysis is based on a typical mission for pre-and post haulage operations, such as type of trips, distance, frequency, urban/suburban, etc.     

Shifting urban freight deliveries to the off-peak hours: a review of theory and practice

This paper presents a comprehensive review of the literature on off-peak hour deliveries (OPHD). The review identifies different approaches and policy levers used in the past, such as the laissez-faire approach, a road pricing approach, an incentives approach, and a regulatory approach. The paper also identifies different delivery reception schemes discussed in the literature. The authors complement the theory with a synthesis of pilot tests and the analysis of a set of interviews with practitioners (from the public sector and other organisations) in charge of OPHD programmes. The results from this review show the potential benefits that these programmes could bring about, the challenges faced in the early stages – along with potential solutions – and the significant progress that has been made in this domain in the last decade. According to the review, the results from the pilot tests tend to be positive, suggesting the importance of these programmes to reach more efficient and sustainable transportation systems.     

Examination of factors affecting freeway incident clearance times: a comparison of the generalized F model and several alternative nested models

Traffic incidents are a principal cause of congestion on urban freeways, reducing capacity and creating risks for both involved motorists and incident response personnel. As incident durations increase, the risk of secondary incidents or crashes also becomes problematic. In response to these issues, many road agencies in metropolitan areas have initiated incident management programs aimed at detecting, responding to, and clearing incidents to restore freeways to full capacity as quickly and safely as possible. This study examined those factors that impact the time required by the Michigan Department of Transportation Freeway Courtesy Patrol to clear incidents that occurred on the southeastern Michigan freeway network. These models were developed using traffic flow data, roadway geometry information, and an extensive incident inventory database. A series of parametric hazard duration models were developed, each assuming a different underlying probability distribution for the hazard function. Although each modeling framework provided results that were similar in terms of the direction of factor effects, there was significant variability in terms of the estimated magnitude of these impacts. The generalized F distribution was shown to provide the best fit to the incident clearance time data, and the use of poorer fitting distributions was shown to result in severe over‐estimation or under‐estimation of factor effects. Those factors that were found to impact incident clearance times included the time of day and month when the incident occurred, the geometric and traffic characteristics of the freeway segment, and the characteristics of each incident. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

GPS销售渠道：4股飓风抢滩登陆

2008年的GPS导航市场，是一个从上到下都不平静的战场，从地图供应商的产权纷争，到硬件商的价格大战，GPS导航销售渠道也出现了4股飓风抢滩登陆的场面。虽然4个渠道看起来都有不同的消费群，但在用户基数还不大的情况下，其相互间的激烈竞争还是难免。而这4个销售渠道，谁将更有实力在未来的导航市场分得更多甜头呢？     

CTRL应用纤维混凝土管片的经验

海峡隧道铁路联络线2区段上的运营隧道包括2.52km长的泰晤士河双洞隧道(Thames Tunnel)和17.5km长的伦敦双洞隧道(London Tunnels)(CTRL 2区段隧道,T&TI杂志2003年9月,增刊).