Airport Landing Charges with Ramsey Pricing: An Empirical Study at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport

Ramsey定價法用於桃園國際機場降落費之研究

In the practice of airport pricing, the landing fees of most airports, including Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), are based on the maximum takeoff weight, which has little theoretical rationale. Due to the increase in traffic volume and its peak and off-peak phenomenon as well as the suitability of Ramsey pricing for uncongested airports or airports in their off-peak periods, this research develops a charging mechanism that applies the Ramsey pricing model, which is then validated at TPE. Since it is difficult to directly calculate the elasticity of airline demand in landings, the ordinal probit model is used in this research to estimate the price elasticities from different passenger groups, which are then applied in the Ramsey pricing model to calculate the price elasticity of airline's landings. Empirical results indicate that landing fees are higher as the aircraft is larger or the flight distance is longer, based on the proposed Ramsey pricing model. Additionally, calculation results reveal that the current charges at TPE are less than the calculated landing fees. It is consistent with the fact that TPE has deficits on its financial performances at airside. Though the proposed pricing mechanism is validated with TPE data, the model is applicable to airports world-wide.

機場定價實務中，多數（含桃園國際機場，TPE）使用最大起飛重量做為降落費的計算基準，惟其並無理論依據。由於TPE的運量逐年上升且尖離峰時段亦極為明顯，而Ramsey法適用於未擁擠的機場，或部分時間擁擠機場的離峰時段，故本研究提出Ramsey定價機制，並以TPE作為實證案例。由於直接取得航空公司對於航班降落需求的價格彈性有其困難，本研究透過排序性普羅比模式分析旅客需求，並以旅客需求彈性取代航空公司的彈性，作為Ramsey定價的輸入參數。結果顯示機型較大或飛行距離較遠航班的降落費較高。此外，本研究定價機制所計算各機型的降落費多數高於TPE目前的收費，此結果與TPE現況空側的財務虧損相符。本研究的定價機制雖然以TPE為實證案例，但亦適用於其他機場。