The use of load factors to segment airline operators

In this paper, commentary is made on recent trends in passenger airline movements, and it is suggested that, as a result of the use of revenue management, load factor has emerged as a performance metric. Using data from the IATA database for each of the years 1992, 1997 and 2002, airline operators have been grouped using cluster analysis into seven segments. These clusters appear to be consistent over time. The clustering variables used were factor scores derived from the IATA data, and they represent size and efficiency. From this, it seems that small and efficient operators who have maximised their load factors have been especially vulnerable to the effects of the traumas of 2001.