Air Transportation

Select one of the topics below and write a minimum 1000 word document using APA formatting (double space, cover page, header, reference list). You must also use at least three (3-5) academic references. Sources such as Wikipedia, Yahoo-answers and blogs are not acceptable academic resources. References must be no more than 5 years old.

1) Compare and contrast the ‘hub and spoke’ and the ‘direct’ (sometimes called point to point) routing systems used by the major US air carriers.

2) Discuss the structure of major US air carriers that use commuter airlines in their business model.

3) Several major air carriers participate in alliance programs. Describe the alliance programs and explain the benefits to the airlines and customers.

Sections of the paper should include:

1. Introduction — What event did you choose and why was it theoretically interesting?

2. Relevant theories — Which theories did you choose for your “short list” and why?

3. Event description — What happened?

4. Theory selection — Which theory “fits” the event best? Why? What makes the theory you chose better than your other options? Explain the theory in this section.

5. Theory evaluation — What are this theory’s strengths in helping you to observe, describe and explain the event? Would the theory help you predict what might happen in similar events in the future? How so?

6. Critique — What are the limitations of your observation? What are the limitations of the theory? What ideas for further research and theory-building do these limitations introduce?

………………….Answer preview……………………..

In this paper, I opt to compare and contrast hub and spoke and direct or point to point routing systems used by the major US air carriers. This topic is theoretically interesting because it offers an opportunity to understand airline routing systems and how they operate. It gives great insight into matters concerning types of routing systems, their differences, their similarities, their advantages, their disadvantages and the factors to consider when choosing a routing system. An air carrier is a company that deals in the transportation……………………

APA

1168 words