U.S. airline data available on the Web
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the International Center for Air Transportation have created a comprehensive Web collection of airline data.
The Airline Data Project features an online databank that provides details and analysis of airline data since 1995.
The resource allows users to compare 15 U.S. airlines on a wide variety of measures, including fleet utilization, labor costs, cash flow and profitability.
The project also allows researchers to confirm -- and in some cases dispel -- conventional wisdom about the airline industry by presenting information within a historical landscape, said Peter Belobaba, manager of MIT's Global Airline Industry Program.
"The airline industry is at its most critical crossroads since deregulation, and the information on this site tells hundreds of different stories that will bear that out," said ADP developer and manager William Swelbar, a MIT research engineer.
"Restructuring in the airline industry is not complete, despite extraordinary changes over the past six years," Swelbar said. "With new competition from foreign carriers through 'open skies' agreements and continued prospects for mergers and consolidation, the coming years could bring even more change."
The data -- available at www.airlinedataproject.mit.edu -- will be updated regularly with additional charts and analysis.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
