Open AccessPerformance evaluation of Indian air routes
Author(s) -
Nivea Thomas,
V. Handuja,
K.C. Iyer
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
iop conference series. earth and environmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1755-1307
pISSN - 1755-1315
DOI - 10.1088/1755-1315/491/1/012055
Subject(s) - data envelopment analysis , aviation , tourism , government (linguistics) , business , scheme (mathematics) , variable (mathematics) , operations research , environmental economics , economics , engineering , geography , mathematics , mathematical optimization , mathematical analysis , linguistics , philosophy , archaeology , aerospace engineering
India is witnessing a massive growth in the aviation industry. In 2016, the Government of India had launched Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), also known as UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) which translates as ‘let the common citizen of the country fly’. It aims to make flying affordable for the masses, promote tourism, increase employment opportunities and promote balanced regional economic growth. The scheme incentivises the airlines to fly in non-financially viable regional routes. This study employs data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to evaluate the performance of 33 domestic air routes of India after UDAN has launched. The parameters for evaluation of the efficiency have been established using the literature survey and pilot studies. Four input variables (air distance between airports, VGF (Viability Gap Funding) sought, maximum airfare, the capacity of routes) and one output variable (load factor) are selected for the analysis. The results of DEA model demonstrate that eight routes are relatively efficient operationally. This performance analysis can be used to assess the management actions and strategies in developing more effective decision making for satisfying the objectives of the owners or operators of airports.