6. Conclusions
The air freight market has experienced rapid growth in recent years. This is undoubtedly due to strong growth of the integrators (door to door supply chains) but also to the fact that some of the established combination network carriers no longer regard freight as a by-product, but rather as an opportunity for achieving profit maximisation. This rapid growth has in turn inspired some airlines to make cargo their core business, with varying success due to the volatility, competitive pressures (e.g. from government owned airlines) and poor commercial viability of some sectors in that market. More often than not, a sector experiencing such momentous growth requires scientific support in order to fully understand ongoing changes to the structure and functioning of the market, and to be able to respond timely and adequately to such evolutions. With this special issue, the Journal of Air Transport Management hopes to provide such support.
