Aircraft Gauge Differences Between the U.S. and Europe and the Operational Implications

It has been widely observed that the US domestic and intra-European airline services differ markedly in terms of average aircraft size. A detailed analysis is desired to better understand the factors that account for these gauge differences and their impact on operational performance. In this paper, the authors compare relationship between segment characteristics and aircraft size in the US and Europe. The results show that, while average gauge is consistently greater in Europe, the magnitude of the difference is greater for low density and longer segments. It also indicates that both the differences in segment characteristic and in the gauge model relationship contribute to the difference in average gauge in the US and Europe. They then quantify the effect of the gauge difference on levels of airport flight traffic and resulting delay. In aggregate, 30% less traffic is handled by the largest European airports compared to their US counterparts. It is entirely the result of differences in the relationships governing average gauge rather than differences in segment characteristics or number of flight segments. They further find that, if flight segments involving the US larger airports retained exactly the same seat density and competitive characteristics, but featured average gauge governed by the European model, flight delays would decrease an average of 5-6 minutes, and over 10 minutes at some of the busier airports.