M4-Written Assignment 2

All assignments in this course are designed to show how the concepts from the text are applied to current problems in the airline industry. For this assignment, the objective is to develop an appreciation for how Airbus and Boeing use the factors that drive supply and demand for air transportation to estimate the market for commercial aircraft over the next 20 years. Fortunately, both manufacturers make their forecasts available to the public on their respective websites in the Airbus Global Market Forecast and the Boeing Current Market Outlook. The location of the forecasts varies from year to year but each can be accessed by a search within the website, or from the site map. From your review, you will write a short paper explaining your findings and conclusions.

In your paper, first briefly explain how Airbus and Boeing develop their 20-year forecasts. Both Airbus and Boeing provide a summary of their methodology, but the location within the forecasts changes from year to year. You will find many similarities and some differences. Next, identify the factors that each identify that affect the supply and demand for air transportation and place these within the categories developed in Airline Operations and Management (Links to an external site.), Chapter 2. Finally, choose a world region and discuss the forecast for growth in air travel over the next 20 years and the most important supply and demand factors for this region. To provide perspective, compare the forecast regional growth with the other world regions. You may find that a table is an effective way to present this information.

Your paper should be a synthesis of the two forecasts, not a separate explanation of Airbus' and Boeing's forecast. The paper should be approximately four to five pages, not including a cover page, reference list, and any appendices you may wish to include. Both forecasts provide a wealth of detail that could support a much longer paper, but the objective is an overview similar to an executive summary, not an in-depth analysis. Managers are often tasked with analyzing business environments or specific problems for senior management review. Senior managers are usually pressed for time and value concise evaluation and recommendation. Discerning and summarizing the critical facts succinctly is difficult. More is not necessarily better; the page limit is intended to foster this skill.

APA format is required including a title page, running head, page numbers, reference citations, APA headings, and a reference listing. You may have only a few references, but these must be cited in both the main body the paper and in a separate reference list. An abstract and table of contents are not required. The sample APA paper at the Purdue Online Writing Laboratory (Links to an external site.) provides an excellent overview of the APA style. Even if you believe you have a good handle on APA format, a review is highly recommended. Also remember that an introduction and conclusion are always appropriate in all but the shortest papers. At a minimum, the introduction to an academic paper tells the reader the objective of the paper and the topics covered. The conclusion should restate the paper's main findings that demonstrate how the paper's objective was met.

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Supply and Demand for Air Transportation (PDF)

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