August
Our latest publication on the discrepancies between scheduled and actual flight block times of U.S. domestic airline operations, led by Dr. Gao, has been published in Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice
Gao, Y., Dou, Z., Wang, S., & Liu, J. (2026). Factors associated with discrepancies between scheduled and actual flight block times: Evidence from U.S. domestic airline operations. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 213, 105227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2026.105227
Our latest publication on how Breeze Airways select airports for their new routes, led by Dr Wang, has been published in Transport Economics and Management
Wang, S., & Gao, Y. (2026). The geography of airport selection by emerging low-cost carriers in the United States: Evidence from Breeze Airways. Transport Economics and Management, 4, 208–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.team.2026.08.002
June
The team attended the the 2026 TRB Symposium on Aviation Innovation and Research at Dayton, OH and had a great reunion.
May
Our latest publication on the dynamics of aviation safety, public attention and media coverage, led by Jialong Sun, has been published on the Journal of Safety Research.
Sun, J., Dou, Z., & Gao, Y. (2026). The temporal dynamics of public attention to aviation safety events. Journal of Safety Research, 97, 598-611. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2026.05.003
April
Zhi Dou has successfully defended his PhD dissertation. Congratulations, Dr. Dou!
Dr. Gao joined the Aviation Education Program Panel Discussion in the 2026 Ohio Aviation Association Conference held at Columbus, OH.
Gao, Y., Stringer, B., Smith, C., Arch, D., & Markel, S. (2026). Aviation Education Program Panel Discussion. Invited Panel Discussion presented on the 2026 Ohio Aviation Association Conference. Columbus, OH.
March
Dr. Gao and Dr. Sen Wang visited Breeze Airways at Cottonwood Heights, Utah and presented their latest study on the airline.
February
Dr. Gao attended the AABI 2026 Annual Meeting at Jacksonville, Florida.
January
Dr. Gao has joined Kent State University as the Director & Professor for the School of Aeronautics at Kent State University.
Our latest paper, led by Dr. Sen Wang, focusing on Breeze Airway's impact on travel demand and airfare has been published on the Journal of the Air Transport Research Society.
Wang, S., Gao, Y., & Walters, E. (2026). The Breeze effect: Evidence on demand stimulation and fare impacts of an emerging low-cost carrier. Journal of the Air Transport Research Society, 6, 100103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jatrs.2026.100103
Our latest paper, collaborated with Dr. Kurt Fuellhart, focusing on award ticket redemption in the US market has been published on the Journal of Air Transport Management.
Fuellhart, K., Livsey, W., & Gao, Y. (2026). Award travel in U.S. domestic markets: An analysis of free ticket redemptions. Journal of Air Transport Management, 133, 102979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2026.102979
December
Our group's latest work, led by Jiayu Liu, has been accepted to appear on Journal of Air Transport Management
Liu, J., Kong, N. N., & Gao, Y. (2026). Assessing spatial development footprint of urban areas surrounding new airport terminal infrastructure. Journal of Air Transport Management, 132, 102957. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102957
November
Dr. Yi Gao attended the 65th AGIFORS Annual Symposium held in London, UK.
October
Three papers in one month! Our groups latest work about flight on-time performance, led by Jiayu Liu, ha been published on Journal of the Air Transport Research Society.
Liu, J., Wang, S., Dou, Z., & Gao, Y. (2025). Do Aging Aircraft Run Late? Evidence from the United States Domestic Flights. Journal of the Air Transport Research Society, 100090. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jatrs.2025.100090
Dr. Gao and Jiayu Liu reviewed recent (since 2000) academic studies on frequent flyer programs, and the review has been published on Journal of Air Transport Management.
Gao, Y., & Liu, J. (2026). Frequent flyer programs in academic studies: A literature review of research progress since 2000. Journal of Air Transport Management, 131, 102920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102920
Our latest study on airport non-aeronautical revenues, led by Dr. Sen Wang and co-authored with Dr. Fecri Karanki, has been published on Journal of Transport Geography.
Wang, S., Karanki, F., & Gao, Y. (2026). Spatial spillovers in U.S. airport non-aeronautical revenue performance, Journal of Transport Geography, 104452, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2025.104452
Jiayu Liu and Tolulope Oluwumi are the 2025 ACRP Graduate Research Award recipients!
Jiayu will conduct a spatial survey and land categorization analysis for U.S. airports to study their future expansion potentials.
Tolulope will undertake a gap analysis of environmental policy implementation in U.S. airports.
Our group attended the 2025 UAA Annual Collegiate Aviation Conference & Expo at Costa Mesa, CA, and Jiayu presented her latest work on adopting AI-Integrated online learning platforms in her teaching.
Gao, Y. & Liu, J. (2025). Adopting AI-Integrated Online Learning Platforms in Collegiate Aviation Education. Workshop presented on the 2025 UAA Annual Collegiate Aviation Conference & Expo. Costa Mesa, CA.
In addition, Tolulope Oluwumi also presented his dissertation research topic about the Role of Stakeholder Engagement in Advancing Environmental Sustainability at U.S. Airports at the Research Roundtable.
September
Our group's latest study, addressing how AI-integrated online learning platforms influence student engagement and learning experiences, has been published on Collegiate Aviation Review International.
Liu, J., Wang, S., Dou, Z., Oluwumi, T. O., & Gao, Y. (2025). Fostering active learning through AI-integrated platforms: Student perceptions from a large enrollment professional education course. Collegiate Aviation Review International, 43(2), 69–99. Retrieved from https://ojs.library.okstate.edu/osu/index.php/CARI/article/view/10322/9131
August
Our group welcomes a new member, Yinxiao Zhang, who previously graduated from University of California, Berkeley.
June
Our group's latest study, featuring the journey of Akron-Canton Airport after the dehubbing of nearby Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and exodus of Southwest Airlines, has been published on Case Studies on Transport Policy.
Wang, S., Dou, Z., Liu, J., & Gao, Y. (2025). The fate of Akron-Canton Regional Airport following the dehubbing of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and exodus of Southwest Airlines. Case Studies on Transport Policy, 101497. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2025.101497
May
Dr. Gao attended the Transportation Research Symposium (TRS) at Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and presented his latest research on airlines' block time setting, titled "Robust modeling of discrepancies between scheduled and actual flight block times".
Dr. Gao attended the Air Transportation Research International Forum (ATRIF) at Washington, DC.
Dr. Gao attended ISTAT Asia 2025 Conference at Tokyo on behalf of the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology, Purdue University.
Dr. Sen Wang latest study on airport parking revenues, partially based on his doctoral dissertation research, has been accepted for publication by Research in Transportation Business & Management.
Wang, S., Kong, N. N., Bilotkach, V., Karanki, F., & Gao, Y. (2025). What drives the dynamics of airport parking revenues? A panel study of U.S. airports. Research in Transportation Business & Management, 61, 101390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101390
April
Tolulope Oluwumi has successfully passed the preliminary examination for PhD. In the next 12-15 months, he will work on his dissertation research titled "Exploring Stakeholder Perspectives on Environmental Sustainability Policies in U.S. Airports ".
March
Our latest publication, titled "Bridging the gap: Evaluating skill alignment between collegiate aviation management programs and industry needs", is now available on Collegiate Aviation Review International: https://ojs.library.okstate.edu/osu/index.php/CARI/article/view/10106/9000
Our group attended the 2025 ISTAT Americas conference in Phoenix, AZ
Zhi Dou and Jialong Sun are the recipients of the prestigious ISTAT Foundation Scholarship recipients for 2023 and 2024, respectively.
January
Our group attended the 2025 TRBAM in Washington, DC
Dr. Sen Wang, Dr. Fecri Karanki, Zhi Dou, and Dr. Gao presented their latest study, titled "The Economic Role of Low-Cost Carriers and Ultra-Low-Cost Carriers in Non- Aeronautical Revenue Dynamics", in the Aviation Economics and Forecasting Committee meeting.
December
Dr. Gao was interviewed by Aaron Gordon from Bloomberg and discussed his opinion on recent changes to airline frequent flyer programs in the US and their impact on travelers. This interview can be accessed via: https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2024-airline-miles-points/
November
Zhi Dou sucessfully passed his preliminary examination for PhD. In the next 18 months, he will work on his dissertation research titled "Enhancing airport operations and customer satisfaction through unsolicited online reviews".
October
Dr. Gao attended the 2024 Loyalty & Awards Conference at Bangkok, Thailand and gave a talk on "Cooperating with Airports at the Loyalty Level as Next Frontier in Revenue Generation" to the customer loyalty professionals.
Jiayu Liu attended the 2024 AGX|SWAAG Joint Annual Conference at San Marcos, TX presented her poster "The Role of Airport Expansions in Urban Growth: The Impact Of New Terminals On Local Land Use".
September
Our group attended the 2024 UAA Collegiate Aviation Education Conference at Memphis, TN.
Dr. Gao attended the Board of Trustee Annual Meeting as the Educator Trustee.
August
ACRP 01-55 has been officially kicked off.
Our group welcomes two new members, Jialing Ling and Jialong Sun.
July
Our group's latest research on the effectiveness of fligth passes in stimulating consumers’ spending, led by Zhi Dou, has been published on the Journal of Air Transport Management: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2024.102635
Our group attended the 27th ATRS World Conference in Lisbon, Portugal and presented the following studies:
"Investigating Temporal Relationships Among US Commercial Airports with Similar Commercial Flight Delay Patterns" (Presented by Sen Wang)
"Navigating the Skies of Airline Customer Loyalty: A Comprehensive Review of Airline Frequent Flyer Program Studies" (Presented by Dr. Yi Gao)
"The Domino Effect of Airport Dehubbing: A case study of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Akron Canton Airport" (Presented by Dr. Yi Gao)
June
Dr. Gao visited IATA Geneva Executive Office in Switzerland.
Our group's latest study on ASRS reports, also Zhi's first journal publication, has been published by Transportation Research Record (TRR: https://doi.org/10.1177/036119812412527960
May
Dr. Gao's latest paper on the economic impact of E-commerce on the U.S. airports, coauthored with his Purdue colleagues Fecri Karanki, Volodymyr Bilotkach, and Chien-Tsung Lu, has been published on the Journal of Air Transport Management: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2024.102598
April
ACRP 03-72 has been officially kicked off.
ACRP 03-74 has been officially kicked off.
March
Sen Wang successfully defended his PhD dissertation! And he will join the Department of Geography at THE Ohio State University as an Assistant Professor in August. Congratulations, Dr. Wang!
Our group attended the 2024 ISTAT Americas Conference in Austin, TX.
Zhi Dou is the recipient of the prestigious Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Scholarship Award.
February
Our group's latest paper, also Jiayu Liu's first journal publication, titled "Can you judge a book by its cover? An analysis of travelers’ perceptions of airline logos and airlines’ business models", has been published by the Journal of Air Transport Management (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2024.102543)
January
Our group attended the 2024 TRBAM in Washington, DC. The group participated in the following events:
Zhi Dou & Yi Gao, poster presentation: Flight Passes Do Stimulate Consumers’ Spending: A Case study of China Eastern Airlines' “Wild Your Weekends”
Sen Wang & Yi Gao, oral presentation in the Airport Terminals and Ground Access Committee meeting: Determinants of Airport Parking Revenues: An Econometric Analysis (ACRP Graduate Research Award)
Fecri Karanki, Volodymyr Bilotkach, Yi Gao & Chien-Tsung Lu, oral presentation in the Air Cargo Subcommittee meeting: The Economic Impact of E-Commerce on U.S. Airports: Cost Savings and Productivity Growth
Our group's latest paper, titled "Use mobile location data to infer airport catchment areas and calibrate Huff gravity model in the New York metropolitan area", has been published by the Journal of Transport Geography (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2023.103790)
December
The project report for ACRP 03-62, Toolkit for Establishing Airport Catchment Areas, has been published by The National Academies Press. The report is freely accessible via: https://doi.org/10.17226/27279
Sen Wang's latest paper, titled "Airport Ground Access Choice Between Transportation Network Companies and Parking: A Case Study of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport", has been published by the International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace (DOI: https://doi.org/10.58940/2374-6793.1857)
October
The final report of our ACRP Synthesis 131: State of Airport Loyalty Programs has been officially published.
Dr. Gao attends the 2024 ISTAT EMEA Conference in London, UK.
Dr. Gao visits Cranfield University, UK.
Dr. Gao visits Technological University Dublin at Ireland.
September
Three papers submitted by our group are accepted by 2024 TRBAM! See you in DC in January, 2024.
Dr Gao and Sen Wang attend the 2023 UAA Collegiate aviation conference & Expo in St. Petersburg, FL.
Dr Gao is elected as the Educator Trustee of the University Aviation Association. His role will formally begin in January, 2024.
July 2023
Dr Gao attends the AABInternational Annual Meeting 2023 at Indianapolis, IN and presented a worship on competency-based assessment along with his colleagues from Purdue University.
June
Shengyang's paper is now available on TRR
Wu, S., & Gao, Y. (2023). Machine Learning Approach to Analyze the Sentiment of Airline Passengers’ Tweets. Transportation Research Record. https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981231172948
Dr. Gao attends the 2023 Global Polytechnic Summit at St. George, UT and presents Fly Net Zero by 2050: Does the airline industry forget the trips from home to airports?
May
Dr. Yi Gao and Sen Wang attended the 11th National Aviation System Planning Symposium in Irvine, CA and delivered two presentations.
Dr. Gao's presentation: Mapping Airport Catchment Areas: A Multidimensional Approach
Sen's poster: How Does Mobile Location of Airport Passengers Tell and Predict Airport Catchment Areas: A Case Study of the New York Metropolitan Multi Airport Region
Jiayu Liu won the Ross Fellowship, a prestigious recruitment fellowship, for her incoming doctoral study!
Zhi Dou is the recipient of 2023 Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Scholarship Award, offered by the International Society of Transport Air Trading (ISTAT) Foundation
March
Dr. Yi Gao attended 2023 ISTAT Americas Conference.
February
Sen Wang won the scholarship to attend the 11th National Aviation System Planning Symposium!
January
The group attended 2023 Transportation Research Board 102nd Annual Meeting (TRBAM 2023).
Sen Wang presented his poster, titled "Airport Ground Access Choice Between Transportation Network Companies and Parking: A Case Study of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport", in RBAM 2023.
Shengyang Wu presented his poster, titled "Happy or grumpy? A Machine Learning Approach to Analyze the Sentiment of Airline Passengers' Tweets", in RBAM 2023.
October
Sen Wang' poster, titled "The Use of mobility data in estimating airport catchment areas: A case study of a multiple airport region in Texas", was awarded Best Poster for Map Use / Information Graphics on the 2022 Applied Geography Conference (AGX).
Dr. Yi Gao presented "Development and Evaluation of an Online Fatigue Training Course for Collegiate Aviation Pilots", a collaborated study with Julius Keller, Flavio Mendonca, Tyler Spence, and Paul Asunda, on the National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS) 2022.
Dr. Yi Gao was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal on the recent announcement of Delta Air Lines' latest changes to its frequent flyer program.
Dr. Yi Gao receives the University Aviation Association's President's Award of 2022.
Dr. Yi Gao delivers a workshop on research data visualization at the 2022 Collegiate aviation conference & Expo in Colorado Springs, CO.
Sen Wang's paper "Airport Ground Access Choice Between Transportation Network Companies and Parking: A Case Study of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport" has been accepted for presentation at the 2023 TRB Annual Meeting.
September
Shengyang Wu's paper "Happy or grumpy? A Machine Learning Approach to Analyze the Sentiment of Airline Passengers' Tweets" has been accepted for presentation at the 2023 TRB Annual Meeting.
Dr. Yi Gao receives the 2022 Purdue Teaching Leadership Award.
Dr. Yi Gao attends the 2022 Future Travel Experience Global Conference.
August
Jiayu presents her latest study about airline logos in the 25th ATRS World Conference.
The group welcomes two new members: Zhi Dou & Tolulope Oluwumi né Fulani
Sen Wang won the 2022-2023 ACRP Graduate Research Awards.
July
June
The group attends Loyalty Summit Americas 2022 at Chicago, IL