Cabin Layout, Seat Density, and Passenger Segmentation in Air Transport: Implications for Prices, Ancillary Revenues, and Efficiency

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Oliveira, Alessandro V. M., Vassallo, Moises D.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Oliveira, Alessandro V. M.
Vassallo, Moises D.
author_facet Oliveira, Alessandro V. M.
Vassallo, Moises D.
contents This study investigates how the layout and density of seats in aircraft cabins influence the pricing of airline tickets on domestic flights. The analysis is based on microdata from boarding passes linked to face-to-face interviews with passengers, allowing us to relate the price paid to the location on the aircraft seat map, as well as market characteristics and flight operations. Econometric models were estimated using the Post-Double-Selection LASSO (PDS-LASSO) procedure, which selects numerous controls for unobservable factors linked to commercial and operational aspects, thus enabling better identification of the effect of variables such as advance purchase, reason for travel, fuel price, market structure, and load factor, among others. The results suggest that a higher density of seat rows is associated with lower prices, reflecting economies of scale with the increase in aircraft size and gains in operational efficiency. An unexpected result was also obtained: in situations where there was no seat selection fee, passengers with more expensive tickets were often allocated middle seats due to purchasing at short notice, when the side alternatives were no longer available. This behavior helps explain the economic logic behind one of the main ancillary revenues of airlines. In addition to quantitative analysis, the study incorporates an exploratory approach to innovative cabin concepts and their possible effects on density and comfort on board.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_08066
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Cabin Layout, Seat Density, and Passenger Segmentation in Air Transport: Implications for Prices, Ancillary Revenues, and Efficiency
Oliveira, Alessandro V. M.
Vassallo, Moises D.
Systems and Control
General Economics
Economics
Applications
This study investigates how the layout and density of seats in aircraft cabins influence the pricing of airline tickets on domestic flights. The analysis is based on microdata from boarding passes linked to face-to-face interviews with passengers, allowing us to relate the price paid to the location on the aircraft seat map, as well as market characteristics and flight operations. Econometric models were estimated using the Post-Double-Selection LASSO (PDS-LASSO) procedure, which selects numerous controls for unobservable factors linked to commercial and operational aspects, thus enabling better identification of the effect of variables such as advance purchase, reason for travel, fuel price, market structure, and load factor, among others. The results suggest that a higher density of seat rows is associated with lower prices, reflecting economies of scale with the increase in aircraft size and gains in operational efficiency. An unexpected result was also obtained: in situations where there was no seat selection fee, passengers with more expensive tickets were often allocated middle seats due to purchasing at short notice, when the side alternatives were no longer available. This behavior helps explain the economic logic behind one of the main ancillary revenues of airlines. In addition to quantitative analysis, the study incorporates an exploratory approach to innovative cabin concepts and their possible effects on density and comfort on board.
title Cabin Layout, Seat Density, and Passenger Segmentation in Air Transport: Implications for Prices, Ancillary Revenues, and Efficiency
topic Systems and Control
General Economics
Economics
Applications
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.08066