由實務面探討影響航空公司貨運營收之因素

The Effects of Practical Factors on Freight Revenue in Airlines

由於國際貿易自由化與全球供應鏈快速發展，使得航空貨運需求與日俱增。影響貨運班機營收因素眾多，航空公司在接受貨主訂位及規劃裝載作業時，均需精算貨物體積及重量，將艙位使用率達到最大化以增加營收。本研究探討不同貨型組合、艙位配置、差別費率及盤櫃最適裝載方式，以提升業者之營運績效及獲利能力。最後，以臺灣某航空公司實際營運與作業資料，進行實例驗證。研究結果顯示，利用重貨與拋貨組合可增加航班計費重；另小貨之費率高於大貨，當班機承載之小貨比率愈高營收愈大；由班機可承載重量及最大艙容可計算貨物最適密度，當承載貨物之平均密度愈接近最適密度時，班機裝載效率愈大。上述結果可供航空公司營運參考。

Owing to liberalization of international trade and rapid development of the global supply chain, demand for air freight has been increasing, but there are many factors that influence freight revenue. In order to fully utilize cargo space and maximize revenue, the volume and weight of freight have to be accurately calculated upon receipt of reservations from shippers and throughout load planning. This research applies revenue management to air freight and explores how different combinations of cargo types, space allocation, price discrimination, and optimal load planning of containers and pallets affect operating performance and profitability of airlines. The application is then validated with actual operations data from an international airline in Taiwan. Results show that chargeable weight can be increased by combining high- and low-density cargoes on the same flight. Moreover, under price discrimination, rates charged for smaller volumes are higher than those for larger ones. Hence, the higher the ratio of small volumes on the flight, the greater the freight revenue. In addition, optimum density of cargoes can be determined according to the payload and maximum load capacity； thus, the closer the average cargo density is to the optimum, the more efficient the load. These findings provide useful suggestions to airlines for load planning to maximize revenue.