2010 - Working Papers: Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

I study delays and congestion patterns in U.S. airports during high-volume periods of flights. I find that these periods are longer the larger the share of flights which is operated by a hub airline. Furthermore, these longer banks exhibit shorter delays than high-volume periods where several airlines operate. These results lend support to recent theoretical work on congestion, and may suggest that congestion management solutions implemented at hub airports dominated by one airline could have only a limited impact on congestion itself.