JAIRM, 2012 – 2(1), 34-50 Online ISSN: 2014-4806 - P in ISSN: 2014-4865
h p://dx.doi.o g/10.3926/jai m.3
34
“Non-A ia ion” ac i i ies and he in oduc ion o new hinking and
ideas in he ai po business: Empi ical e idence om an I alian
case s udy
Vincenzo Fasone, Pasquale Maggio e
Ko e Uni e si y Enna (I aly)
incenzo. asone@uniko e.i , pasquale.maggio e@uniko e.i
Recei ed Feb ua y, 2012
Accep ed May, 2012
Abs ac
Pu pose:
This pape aims o desc ibe he main changes occu ing in he ai po indus y
wi h pa icula a en ion o he inc easing ele ance o he non-a ia ion ac i i ies. In ac ,
du ing he mos ecen decades, he ai po business has e ol ed in o a dynamic and
compe i i e indus y. In o de o educe hei de ici s ai po managemen policies ha e
p og essi ely a ou ed he comme cial aspec s in o de o p oduce g ea e p o i ma gins.
In many coun ies, g ea e managemen elas ici y in business adminis a ion has occu ed,
and impo an modi ica ions ha e been in oduced in he na ional and in e na ional
egula ions acco ding o a ma ke o ien ed pe spec i e.
Design/me hodology/app oach:
The me hod used is he case s udy app oach and he
analysis u ilizes empi ical da a o igina ing om he ai po in Olbia.
Findings:
Findings show how he choice o in es in he non-a ia ion sec o can be
asc ibed o he s a egic o ien a ion adop ed by ai po manage s.
O iginali y/ alue:
Empi ical e idence can highligh ce ain ends in he indus y, whose
alues can lead o a co e de ini ion o he new pa hs o de elopmen o he ai po
Jou nal o Ai line and Ai po Managemen 2(1), 34-50
35
business o ollow in he non-a ia ion dimension, and iden i ying a he same ime
inno a i e business ideas o opening up new ma ke scena ios.
Keywo ds:
ai po s, non a ia ion ac i i ies, business ideas, case s udy
1. In oduc ion
Ai po - ela ed business du ing he las decades has been subs an ially ans o med
in o he eali y o a dynamic and compe i i e indus y. In e ec , he indus y has
aced a numbe o changes ha ha e p oduced a subs an ial ede ini ion o how
and wha he business sec o – seen as a whole – is a emp ing o achie e in i s
goals.
In his sense, many a emp s ha e been made o each an app op ia e model o
he ai po business o suppo g ow h and de elopmen o in as uc u es which
ha e su e ed signi ican de ici s in he pas (Gillen, 2011; G aham, 2008; Asheesh
& Sand o d, 2001; Ja ach, 2001).
In many coun ies, g ea e elas ici y in managing business ope a ions has been
legisla ed and impo an modi ica ions ha e been in oduced in na ional and
in e na ional egula ions acco ding o a ma ke o ien ed pe spec i e (Gillen, 2011;
G aham, 2008; Doganis, 1992).
Undoub edly, one o he main inno a ions e e s o he g owing a en ion gi en
owa ds he de elopmen o he “non-a ia ion” dimension in he con ex o gene al
ai po business ac i i ies.
Since 1978, wi h en y in o law o he Ai line De egula ion Ac , wi h ju isdic ion
o e he a ia ion indus y in he USA, g ea changes we e gene a ed wi h ega d o
business ope a ions and signi ican inno a ions we e in oduced ega ding
managemen o ai po sys ems.
In he Eu opean egion, ano he ques ion add essed by ai po companies has been
he policy o in eg a ion inalized in he c ea ion o a common ma ke . The emo al
o poli ical and comme cial bounda ies, indeed, caused many p oblems o
ope a o s ega ding hei ope a ional scena ios.
Jou nal o Ai line and Ai po Managemen 2(1), 34-50
36
In addi ion, ca as ophic e o is ic e en s, such as he a ack on he “Twin
Towe s”, oge he wi h o he global phenomena, such as SARS, ha e imposed
special a en ion on one hand o secu i y sys ems and on he o he o encou aging
and p omo ing a sense o us among a elle s.
Ai po - ela ed ac i i ies also, ace he challenge o coo dina ing he numbe o
comme cial en u es ha exis a ound he co e business and ha can enable i o
de elop a sys emic ela ionship wi h a ious s akeholde s.
G aham (2008) summa izes in h ee key poin s he changes ha ha e occu ed
ecen ly in ai po managemen :
 Expansion o comme cial ac i i ies
 P i a iza ion p ocesses
 Di e si ica ion o owne ship
In I aly, hese e ec s ha e had a signi ican impac on he de egula ion and
p i a iza ion o he indus y (Sebas iani, 2004).
The pape p oceeds as ollows: Sec ion 2 p o ides a sho o e iew on non-a ia ion
ac i i ies in he ai po indus y; Sec ion 3 b ie ly desc ibes he I alian ai po
sys em; Sec ion 4 discusses aims, me hods and a hypo hesis o igina ing om
esea ch; Sec ion 5 shows he esul ing empi ical e idence om a case s udy
analysis; Sec ion 6 includes some p elimina y conclusions.
2. “Non-A ia ion” ac i i ies in he ai po business: A b ie o e iew
In li e a u e Doganis (1992) de ines he ai po as a complex o asse s ( unway,
buildings, plan and equipmen ) enabling he de elopmen o ai anspo o
passenge s, ca go and mail.
Acco ding o Ja ach (2001), “In ecen imes, indus y’s bes -in-class p ac ices ha e
ended o mo e away om he classical mono-modal app oach, whe e ai po s
s uggle be ween each o he and o he modes o anspo a ion o inc ease he
weigh o hei seconda y demand, in a ou o a new s a egic model o
managemen ”.
The ele ance o he non-a ia ion componen ega ding ai po e enues and hei
egula ion (K a zsch & Sieg, 2011) is a well-es ablished issue in li e a u e. Zhang
Jou nal o Ai line and Ai po Managemen 2(1), 34-50
37
and Zhang (1997) poin ou how he pe cen age o o al ai po e enues
ep esen ed by non-ae onau ical o comme cial componen s is con inuing o g ow.
P esen ly, among he wide ange o ai po ac i i ies, he mos impo an se ices
a e ope a ional, a ic-handling and comme cial (K ame , 2010; Mo ison, 2009;
Reiss, 2007; Bo k, 2006).
Mo e speci ically, in ac , ai po managemen has aced a adical ans o ma ion in
he sense o a ede ini ion o he business ope a ional limi s in o de o ocus hei
e o s on he ac i i ies ou side he co e business, i.e. on he “non- a ia ion”
ac i i ies.
S a ing om hese conside a ions, he elemen o in e es , he e o e, is he
dynamic aspec o managemen , ela ing o he exe cise o in as uc u e
de elopmen and he a ious ac i i ies ha ha e become conna u al o he demand
g owing in di e ing ma ke segmen s.
Some desc ip i e da a o e a quick snapsho o he ele ance o his aspec .
Acco ding o he 2010 ACI epo , he wo ldwide o al ai po income in 2009
eached USD 95 billion, whe eas ae onau ical e enues accoun ed o 53.5%, and
non-ae onau ical e enues made up 46.5%. Non-a ia ion e enues (NAR) ose by
3% in 2009, d i en by he e ail sec o (+2%), eal es a e (+10%), ca en al
concessions (+9%) and ood and be e age (+7%). In Eu ope, ACI-Eu ope (2010)
shows ha he e enues o Eu opean ai po s, in he las decades, ha e shown a
g adual inc ease in he non-a ia ion ca ego y, eaching 12.1 billion eu os (47% o
o al e enues) in 2009. Such igu es show how NAR ep esen s a i al componen
in ai po managemen and can de e mine hei inancial iabili y especially in a
down u n pe iod, since hey gene a e highe p o i ma gins han ae onau ical
ac i i ies.
This ans o ma ion canno be app oached exclusi ely o achie e highe p o i s, bu
also o a ionalize he whole sys em ha needs o ind a balance be ween economic
and public in e es s.
G aham (2009) s a es ha “wi hin each global egion and each coun y, comme cial
e enues will a y acco ding o a mul i ude o ac o s […] These ac o s will di ec ly
depend on whe he he ai po adop s a ‘single ill’ app oach, encompassing all
e enues when ae onau ical cha ges a e se o whe he i uses a ‘dual ill’ when
ae onau ical and comme cial ac i i ies a e ea ed as sepa a e inancial en i ies”.
Jou nal o Ai line and Ai po Managemen 2(1), 34-50
38
“Ai po s a e keen on using hei comme cial e enues – says Abey a ne (2001) –
o help co e he cos s o huge in es men s being made on in as uc u es
imp o emen . Howe e , he ‘single ill’ app oach, which is widely used and akes
in o accoun bo h cha ges imposed on ai lines and passenge s o using
ae onau ical se ices and income de i ed om non-ae onau ical ac i i ies as a
single income sou ce when se ing cha ges, has been c i icized as c ea ing a c oss
subsidy whe eby p o i s om comme cial ac i i ies a e used o o se ae onau ical
cos s”.
The anspo sec o is indeed a ec ed by p o ound changes and is g adually losing
i s adi ional image o a p o ec ed and monopolis business, because o
modi ica ions caused by Eu opean legisla ion ha impose he p inciple o he “open
ma ke ” in which di e en legal en i ies a e o ced o compe e in e ms o
e ec i eness, e iciency and p o i abili y, add essing in a mo e lexible and imely
manne he new equi ed demands o igina ing om he a ia ion sec o .
The impo ance o change in hese o ms does no conce n he legal amewo k, bu
a he he e olu ion o p oduc i e capaci y and dynamic managemen in a con ex
ha is ee om cumbe some p ocedu es o public adminis a ion and in which,
using he know-how o p i a e en ep eneu ship, one can c ea e a i uous ci cui
also o c ea ing employmen oppo uni ies.
I is inc easingly clea ha a ede ini ion o he ai anspo business mus
necessa ily deal wi h a new “business idea”, designed o acili a e he s uc u al
in eg a ion o he ai po company in hei p oduc and ma ke sys em in o de o
each mo e e ec i e le els o compe i i eness and e iciency.
Pa aph asing Richa d No mann, he eme ging “clima e o ope a i e ension” in a
business con ex which emo es o exploi s e en ual “dis unc ions” occu ing in a
company’s daily unc ioning may esul o be, in e ec , an impo an “d i e ” om
which a clima e o new business ideas is o med.
T ui and Esle (1996) obse e ha inc easingly, non-a ia ion ac i i ies a ai po s
a e being au onomously managed by sepa a e companies unde managemen
con ac s, o en as an al e na i e o p i a iza ion h ough di es i u e.
In his pape , a e a sho p esen a ion desc ibing he I alian ai po indus y, we
will discuss - in he ligh o empi ical e idence - possible solu ions o be
implemen ed in he ele an business con ex in which he exis ence o

Jou nal o Ai line and Ai po Managemen 2(1), 34-50
39
“spon aneous d i ing o ces” can lead o a ede ini ion o co po a e s a egies,
ocusing pa icula ly on he g ow h o he “non-a ia ion” dimension.
3. The ai po business in I aly: Di e en modes o business adminis a ion
A b ie o e iew o he no ma i e cha ac e is ics o he I alian ai po managing
sys ems is impo an o be e unde s and i s pa icula ea u es ha led o he
e o m o ai po business p ocedu es aced back o he Legisla i e Law Dec ee
537/93. This ac de ines he p inciples o an ai po managemen sys em in which
he p i a e sec o ep esen s speci ic in e es s and asse s i s ele ance o ensu e
he u he de elopmen and mode niza ion o de e mina e in as uc u es. The
economic and legal models c ea ed o boos he p i a iza ion p ocess also aim a
s anda dizing di e en modes o go e nance wi hin he a ious exis ing o ms o
managemen .
Un il he in oduc ion o his e o m ac came in o e ec , he p e iously di e ing
o ms o managemen we e:
 Pa ial concession ( he ai po company is esponsible o he non- ligh ai po
in as uc u es. The company p o ides se ices o ai c a s, passenge s and
eigh while he Go e nmen adminis a es he ligh in as uc u e)
 “P eca ious” pa ial concession (in which he company o in e es , du ing he
ime dedica ed o he comple ion o he con en ion and he subsequen
pending minis e ial dec ee, ecei es in ad ance he possession o a ious
p ope ies om he ai po en i y in o de o con inue unc ioning unde a
pa ial concessiona y se -up)
 To al concession ‘by special-law’ ( he ai po company is esponsible o he
de elopmen o he comple e in as uc u e)
 Di ec managemen ( he ENAC, he Ci il A ia ion Au ho i y di ec ly ensu es
he o ganiza ional and main enance needs o ai po asse s).
In con as , he e o m ac i sel s a es ha he mode o o al concession is he
e sion ha mus eplace he a ious ypes o exis ing managemen (i.e. pa ial o
p eca ious).
The e o e, he need o delega e managemen o a single ope a o in acco dance
wi h p i a e ules o ien ed o lexibili y is impe a i e.
Jou nal o Ai line and Ai po Managemen 2(1), 34-50
40
Acco ding o his iew, he concession o o al managemen o limi ed companies is
consis en wi h a new concep o he ai po en i y, seen now as a mode n
en e p ise ha in e aces wi h a a ie y o ac i i ies and de elops i s conside able
economic po en ial a he same ime gi ing mo e a en ion o passenge needs, a
cha ac e is ic which has come o play a “cen al ole” in he ai anspo a ion
sys em.
In essence, unde his model he concessionai e plays he ole o he in es o o
whom is delega ed he ein o cemen o he en ep eneu ial capaci y o he
in as uc u e.
Ac ually, in some ci cums ances, he ex eme delay in he implemen a ion o his
e o m has us a ed expec a ions om he public sec o .
Du ing he implemen a ion o he p i a iza ion p ocess, i is s ill he go e nmen ’s
esponsibili y o in e ene and ensu e, h ough a no ma i e p o ision, he
esou ces needed o successi e phases de eloping ai po acili y imp o emen s.
The e o e, we can say ha he design o he e o m plan esul ing om he
p e ious sys em is s ill unc ioning.
In he ligh o he amewo k discussed so a , managemen o I alian ai po s as
ou lined in hei a ious o ganiza ional cha ac e is ics is as ollows:
 Pa ial concession (Albenga, Ancona, Asiago, Bolzano, B escia, C o one,
Cuneo, Fo lì, G osse o, Lucca, O is ano, Pado a, Pa ma, Pe ugia, Reggio
Calab ia, Reggio Emilia, Rimini, Sale no, Siena, T apani, T e iso, Venezia
“Lido”, Vicenza)
 To al concession “by special law” (Roma “Fiumicino e Ciampino”, Milano
“Lina e e Malpensa”, Venezia “Tesse a”, To ino “Caselle”, Geno a and
Be gamo)
 To al concession ex D.M. 521/97 (Ba i, B indisi, Foggia, Ba i, Napoli, Fi enze,
Olbia, Bologna, Pisa, Caglia i, Ca ania, Pale mo, T ies e “Ronchi dei Legiona i”,
Alghe o, Pesca a, Ve ona “Villa anca” and Lamezia Te me)
 Di ec managemen (Lampedusa, Pan elle ia, Roma U be and o he small
ai po s).
Jou nal o Ai line and Ai po Managemen 2(1), 34-50
41
Rega ding he deba e on a ying ai po managemen in as uc u es Asheesh and
Sand o d (2001) and Ca ney and Mew (2003) ha e o e ed an impo an
con ibu ion.
The owne ship o he ai po companies has assumed a ious con igu a ions in
di e ing coun ies and in ela ion o app op ia e no ma i es and egula ions.
I can be a gued ha he di e en owne ship s uc u es ha e been de eloped
wi hin a con inuum ans o med om public o p i a e owne ship.
In he ollowing way i is possible o iden i y s uc u es:
 Owned o ally by public sec o (wi h di ec con ol by he S a e o by he
Au ho i y)
 Mixed owned by public and p i a e sec o
 Owned o ally by p i a e ope a o s.
In he case o I alian ai po s, he a ious companies’ owne ship cha ac e is ics
ou line how he sha e capi al is mos ly he p ope y o local au ho i ies o ins ance,
municipali ies, Chambe s o Comme ce and in only a ela i ely ew cases by p i a e
sha eholde s (ENAC, 2010).
4. Aims, hypo hesis and me hod
Th ough his s udy we a e a emp ing o unde s and i and unde which condi ions
he non-a ia ion dimension can be conside ed as a s a egic business uni in o de
o suppo he long-las ing compe i i eness o he ai po sys em as a uni ied
en i y.
Acco dingly, his pape aims o add ess his issue h ough an explo a i e app oach
analyzing one pa icula I alian case s udy. This analysis is o pa icula in e es
when he coun y unde s udy – in his case I aly – is cha ac e ized by a
he e ogeneous si ua ion in e e ence o inhe en ai po cha ac e is ics ( o
ins ance, o passenge s a ic olume, mix o low cos and adi ional ca ie s
ope a ions, e c.) and lowe non-a ia ion e enues han exis ing wo ldwide.
Howe e , in his con ex , ela i ely ew s udies exis . Ab a e and E be a (2010)
show how economic conce ns can ha e a s ong connec ion wi h changes in ai po
o ganiza ion, in ol ing in pa icula ou sou cing o handling ope a ions and
Jou nal o Ai line and Ai po Managemen 2(1), 34-50
42
de elopmen o comme cial ac i i ies. Cu i, Gi o and Mancuso (2008, 2011) in
hei i s s udy in es iga e ai po e iciency and in he second, hey sepa a e he
ac o s o e iciency ela ed o he abili y in managing ai side ac i i ies (ope a ional)
in con as o ac o s ela ing o he managemen o a comple e ange o
inancially- ela ed business ac i i ies.
The analysis u ilizes empi ical da a o igina ing om he ai po in Olbia. These
analyses ep esen in e es ing “labo a o ies” o da a in o ma ion implemen ed
h ough he adap ion o a ma ke -o ien ed app oach o business de elopmen .
The s udy’s hypo hesis is ha a well-o ganized non-a ia ion sec o can con ibu e
signi ican ly o boos ing g ow h o o e all ai po business. In his sense, he
ela ed hypo hesis is ha he de elopmen o an e icien non-a ia ion dimension
can be use ul in dealing wi h economic and inancial issues ela ed o gene al ai
a ic business.
The me hodological app oach u ilized he e is he case s udy analysis (Yin, 1994).
In he selec ion o case s udies o his esea ch p ojec , we ha e used a non-
p obabilis ic (judgmen al), sampling echnique. We also u ilized so-called
“pu posi e sampling”, o en used o ob ain illus a i e ou lines o speci ic eali ies
h ough he use o pa icula ly ep esen a i e cases (Saunde s, Lewis & Tho nhill,
2003).
The s udy was ca ied ou and he ele an analysis pe o med wi h da a di ec ly
ga he ed om he Olbia ai po websi e, and h ough analysis bo h o inancial
epo s and semi-s uc u ed in e iews. The u iliza ion o in e iews enabled us o
con i m he analysis o he collec ed da a.
Thus, in o de o es he assump ions o his s udy, we ca ied ou esea ch based
on seconda y da a analysis. Which in pa icula e e s o “documen a y seconda y
da a” ha include consolida ed and single balance shee s o he selec ed company,
ai po s’ a ic da a and annual s a is ics. The main sou ces a e he websi es o he
ai po company, Assae opo i ( he Associa ion o I alian ai po s companies) and
ENAC ( he Na ional A ia ion Au ho i y). This choice e lec s he posi i e assessmen
o da a alidi y (Cow on, 1998).
The main ad an age o using seconda y da a is he eno mous sa ing in esou ces
and he possibili y o analyse a la ge da a se .
Jou nal o Ai line and Ai po Managemen 2(1), 34-50
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h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1016/S1366-5545(97)00029-X
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