Business models for flight-centric air traffic control

Abstract

This article explores the impact that flight-centric air traffic control (ATC), a concept under development, has on ATC market structure and ATC business models. Flight-centric operations bring forth changes in how the stakeholders adapt their roles to the emerging ATC market. We compared current ATC and market structures with the emerging flight-centric concept and analyzed the market changes in structure and competition from the emergence of flight-centric operations using Porter’s five forces model. Four potential business models for flight-centric ATC are identified and described: current air navigation service providers adapt, vertical integration by airlines, new ATC providers, and the network manager as capacity-demand manager. In the final chapter, we briefly describe the future regulation of the market for flight-centric operations. We conclude that new concepts and technologies, such as flight-centric operations, create the necessary dynamics for change in the current market structure by unbundling of the market.