FROM CARPET SELLERS TO CARGO STARS: ANALYZING STRATEGIES OF AIR CARGO CARRIERS

Abstract

While some research has been done on passenger airlines strategy, the strategies of air cargo carriers have hardly been researched. This paper analyses and compares the strategies of air cargo carriers. Therefore, a typology of management strategies for both combination and full cargo airlines has been developed, in which the various strategy choices within the strategic framework of the respective air cargo carriers are further elaborated. The typology has been developed through a K-means cluster analysis on a data set of 47 air cargo carriers. The use of a cluster analysis to group the strategy models of a number of air cargo carriers is a novel feature of this research. The results of this research generate a typology of seven representative clusters of air cargo carriers’ strategy models, each with their own characterizing features. Striking differences and similarities are highlighted. Our findings suggest the clear existence of different strategy models and the differing degree of focus on air cargo strategy development and deployment among the air cargo carriers’ population.