Concept of Air Transport

The movement of passengers and cargo by aircraft such as airplanes and helicopters. Air transportation has become the primary means of common-carrier travelling. Greatest efficiency and value are obtained when long distances are travelled, high-value payloads are moved, immediate needs must be met, or surface terrain prevents easy movement or significantly raises transport costs. Although the time and cost efficiencies obtained decrease as distance traveled is reduced, air transport is often worthwhile even for relatively short distances. Air transportation also provides a communication link, which is sometimes vital, between the different groups of people being served.

The concept was take off by the Wright Brothers in 1903. The first flight was scheduled in 1914 with a paying passenger @ $10 per person.

The mobility of men and material by air is called air transport. It is the fastest means of transport. It is very useful for long distances and saves time.

The Parliament passed the Air Transport Corporation Act in 1953 under which the Indian Airlines Corporation was to run domestic services and Air India is to run external services.

Vayudoot and Pawan Hans are the two airlines added to civil aviation recently. Vayudoot operates in remote stations not covered by Indian Airlines. Pawan Hans provides helicopter services to remote places. In 1972, International Airport Authority of India (IAAI) was established and in 1986 National Airport Authority of India (NAAI) was installed.

The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is responsible for maintenance of civil aerodromes. After the implementation of economic reforms, Govt. has been following the policy of open skies and private airlines have been permitted to operate in the field of civil aviation.

Travel class on an airplane is usually split into a two, three or four class model service. U.S. domestic flights usually have two classes: economy class and a domestic first class partitioned into cabins. International flights may have up to four classes: economy class; premium economy; business class or club class; and first class.

Most air travel starts and ends at a commercial airport. The typical procedure is check-in; border control; airport security baggage and passenger check before entering the gate; boarding; flying; and pick-up of luggage and – limited to international flights – another border control at the host country’s border.

For longer journeys, air travel may consist of several flights with a layover in between. The number of layovers often depends on the number of hub airports the journey is routed through.

Airlines rely either on the point-to-point model or the spoke-and-hub model to operate flights in between airports. The point-to-point model, often used by low-cost carriers such as Southwest, relies on scheduling flights directly between destination airports. The spoke-and-hub model, used by carriers such as American and Delta, relies on scheduling flights to and from hub airports. The hub-and-spoke model allows airlines to connect more destinations and provide more frequent routes, while the point-to-point system allows airlines to avoid layovers and have more cost effective operations.