The modern aircraft carrier is without doubt one of the most exciting and hazardous operating environments in the field of warfare. The 'flattop' is a symbol of global military power without parallel, and it remains a capability beyond reach of all but the most well equipped navies. With the detail, precision and accuracy expected of Harpia Publishing, this latest volume provides a force report of the various air components and associated vessels fielded by those select nations that field fixed-wing-capable aircraft carriers.
Airlines are buffeted by fluctuating political and economic landscapes, ever-changing competition, technology developments, globalization, increasing deregulation and evolving customer requirements. As a consequence all sectors of the air transport industry are in a constant state of flux. The principle aim of this book is to review current trends in the airline industry and its related suppliers, thereby providing an insight into the forces that are changing its dynamics. The factors that are reshaping the structure of the industry are examined with a view to identifying the key issues whose impact will be critical in the future. The book features two very distinct sections. The first contains short contributions from industry executives at CEO/VP level from airlines, aircraft/engine manufacturers, safety and navigational provider organisations, who have set out their take of where the airline industry is heading. This commercial input sets the scene for the book and provides the bridge to the second section, which is composed of 18 chapters written by distinguished academic authors. Each chapter presents a valuable insight into a specific area of the air transport industry, including: airlines, airports, cargo, deregulation, the environment, navigation, strategy, information technology, security and tourism. The shared objective of the authors is to describe and explain the core competencies that are determining the current shape of the industry and to examine the forces that will change its direction going forward. The book is written in a management style and will appeal to all levels of personnel who work for airlines across the world. It is also written for airport authorities, aerospace manufacturers, regulatory and government transportation agencies, researchers and students of aviation management, transport studies, tourism and the wider air transport industry.
The debate on the future of the aviation sector and the viability of its traditional business practices is the core of this book. The liberalization of the EU market in the 1990s has radically modi?ed the competitive environment and the nature of airline competition. Furthermore, the new millennium began with terrorist attacks, epidemics, trade globalization, and the rise of oil prices, all of which combined to push the industry into a “perfect storm”. Airline industry pro?tability has been an elusive goal for several decades and the recent events has only accentuated existing weaknesses. The main concern of ind- try observers is whether the airline business model, successful during the 1980s and 1990s, is now sustainable in a market crowded by low-cost carriers. The airlines that will respond rapidly and determinedly to increase pressure to restructure, conso- date and segment the industry will achieve competitive advantages. In this context, the present study aims to model the new conduct of the ‘legacy’ carriers in a new liberalized European market in terms of network and pricing competition with l- cost carriers and competitive reaction to the global economic crises.
They are floating cities with crews of thousands. They are the linchpins of any military strategy, for they provide what has become the key to every battle fought since World War I: air superiority. The mere presence of a U.S. naval carrier in a region is an automatic display of strength that sends a message no potential enemy can ignore. Now, Tom Clancy welcomes you aboard for a detailed look at how these floating behemoths function. With his trademark style and eye for detail, Clancy brings you naval combat strategy like no one else can.Carrier includes: * Takeoffs and landings: flying into the danger zone * The aircraft onboard: their range, their power, their weaponry * The role of the carrier in modern naval warfare * Exclusive photographs, illustrations and diagrams Plus: An interview with the U.S. Navy's Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Jay Johnson
Lake Michigan's Aircraft Carriers is the story of the USS Wolverine and the USS Sable, two Great Lakes excursion ships converted for use as aircraft carrier training during World War II. Through the duration of the war, the United States Navy qualified 17,800 pilots for aircraft carrier operation. Training the pilots on either the Atlantic or the Pacific Ocean would have exposed the training ships to the danger of submarine attack, while requiring the escort of fighting ships that were needed elsewhere. It would also have involved arming and armoring the ships used for training. Commander R.F. Whitehead came up with an idea that solved all of these problems. He suggested doing the training on the protected waters of the Great Lakes. The USS Wolverine and the USS Sable were chosen and thus became the only fresh water, paddle-wheeled, coal-fired aircraft carriers in the history of the world. Author Paul M. Somers shares his collection of vintage photos and a lifetime of research to detail the history of these two great vessels-from their life as cruise ships to their contributions to the war effort and then to their eventual scrapping.
Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Sergei Georgiyevich Gorshkov led the Soviet Navy for almost three decades during the height of the Cold War. He was the architect of the Red Fleet, turning it from little more than a coastal defense force into the most powerful navy that the Soviet Union ever possessed. 21st Century Gorshkov is a collection of articles, many of which have not previously been published in English, and passages from Admiral Gorshkov’s more famous books, each with an introduction linking the work to the challenges facing navies everywhere today. Strategists worldwide have much to learn from the Soviet legend behind the most rapid naval expansion program in peacetime history. Gorshkov’s ideas on naval power remain relevant today.
In the post-1945 era, the aircraft carrier has remained a valued weapon despite the development of nuclear weapons, cruise and ballistic missiles, and highly capable submarines. At times, as in the early days of the Korean and Vietnam Wars and in the Falklands conflict, carriers alone could deploy high-performance aircraft to the battlefield. In other operations, such as enforcing the no-fly zones and the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, only carriers could provide the bases needed for sustained combat and support operations. This second volume of Norman Polmar's landmark study details the role of carriers in the unification of the U.S. armed forces and strategic deterrence, fiscally constrained Great Britain, the development of British Commonwealth and ex-colonial navies, and the efforts of France and the Netherlands to rebuild their fleets. The role of the modern carrier-nine nations currently possess them-is discussed, as are the issues confronting nations that might acquire them. Chapters on the Soviet Union's effort to produce carriers are included for the first time. The development of both carrier planes and the many "oddball" aircraft that have flown from carriers-such as the U-2 spy plane-are also examined. Appendixes include comprehensive data on all carriers built and converted through 2006. This volume is a valuable companion to the critically acclaimed Volume I, which covers aircraft carrier development and operations from 1909 to 1945.
Low-Cost Airline Carriers in Emerging Countries traces the development of low-cost carriers (LCCs) in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, examining airlines that have become significant players in their home markets but little known at a global scale. The book maps the geography of the LCC phenomenon, explaining the starkly varying success of budget airlines, and assessing their current social, economic and environmental impacts. The book concludes with insights into the future potential of the LCC phenomenon along with its global ramifications. Beginning with Southwest Airlines in the 1970s, low-cost carriers (LCCs) have democratized air travel around the world, fostering huge increases in airline traffic and transforming the airline industry. At the same time however, the ascent of these budget airlines has exacerbated aviation-related problems such as aircraft noise, airport congestion, greenhouse gas emissions and more. LCCs have been extensively studied in the US and Europe but not in emerging regions of the globe. Yet the impact of such airlines is greatest in low- and middle-income economies where only a small fraction of the population has ever flown, and where competition from alternative modes (road, rail) is weak. - Examines the evolution of low cost carriers around the world, how established airlines react to their entry and the wide-ranging societal implications for individual countries and the world - Places emerging countries' LCCs into a global context, comparing them to their US and European counterparts - Offers original quantitative analysis of LCC networks at several spatial scales (global, regional, national, airport vs. airport) using global schedule data from OAG - Includes professionally produced maps of representative airlines networks
