Air Transportation Systems Lab

Our research explores how society can continue to enjoy the advantages of our expanding air transportation system,
while controlling the undesired environmental effects.

WHAT WE DO

Using physical science, econometric, and operations research-based methods, we develop unique models that simulate the behaviour of passengers, freight shippers, airlines, and airports within the global aviation market. Our one-of-their-kind, peer-reviewed tools help quantifying the propagating impacts of government policies, disruptive technological change, and expansions in airport capacity.

Learn more

Projected route-level airline passenger and freight tonne-km, 2050

Projected route-level direct aviation CO₂, 2050

Projected route-level direct CO₂ per tonne-km, 2050

OUR CAPABILITIES

Integrated
Aviation Systems Modelling

Developing forecasting models of air passenger and air freight flows at different levels of aggregation, quantifying the propagating impacts of government policies, disruptive technology, and changes in airport capacity.

Modelling
Airline Behaviour

Computing itinerary airfares, flight frequency, and aircraft fleet deployment within competitive and profit seeking airline networks; simulating profit driven airline network growth.

Modelling
Airport Economics

Determining profit-optimal aeronautical charges and changes in infrastructure in a competitive airport environment.

Modelling
Passenger Behaviour

Simulating mode, airport, and itinerary choice under revealed and stated preference conditions; quantifying willingness-to-pay for greener aviation.

Modelling
Air Freight Systems

Estimating global air freight flows and determining the profit-motivated allocation of air freight to belly freight and freighter aircraft itineraries.

Environmental & Economic
Impact Modelling

Generating local, regional and global emissions inventories for different aviation futures that can be used to assess CO₂ and non-CO₂ impacts, and assessing key system KPIs which affect the economic impacts of aviation system changes.