What can be learned from benchmarking studies? Examining the apparent poor performance of German airports

Abstract

In the last 15 years, privatisation and commercialisation in the airport industry have contributed to a substantial number of benchmarking studies. International studies commonly conclude that German airports are inefficient in comparison with other airports in Europe and in particular with non-European countries. Using benchmarking studies by ATRS and TRL, this paper analyses the factors behind the poor performance of German airports. Economies of scale and scope and the high degree of vertical integration are identified as potential reasons for the disappointing performance. The paper closes with an overview of the authors' own research project, the German Airport Performance (GAP) study, which will address changes of ownership structure, competition and economic regulation on the performance of German airports.