Faculty of Social Sciences

Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business and Management

Short Courses

Air Services and Route Development

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Programme Overview

Winning the Route: Building Airlift that Lasts

Air service development is one of the most commercially important and increasingly competitive functions within airport management because securing and sustaining a route is rarely as simple as proving that demand exists. A market may show demand and still fail to secure an airline. A destination may want additional frequencies, but the airline may have a better use for the aircraft elsewhere. A government may see a route as strategically important while the carrier sees weak yields. An airport may offer incentives, launch the service successfully and then discover six months later that the route is underperforming. That tension between market ambition and airline commercial reality is exactly what this programme is built around.

Air Services and Route Development places you into the commercial decisions behind attracting, launching, growing and retaining air services. You will work from both sides of the table: what an airport or destination wants, and what an airline network planner actually needs to see before committing aircraft, capacity and crew. This programme examines the numbers, relationships and judgement behind route development: passenger leakage, catchment and demand, airline network fit, aircraft and schedule constraints, route economics, bilateral and market-access considerations, incentives, tourism partnerships, route pitches and post-launch performance.

For Caribbean professionals, the programme goes further. You will confront the realities of small catchment markets, high seasonality, VFR traffic, limited aircraft capacity, dependence on connecting gateways, weak intra-regional connectivity, competing tourism destinations, public pressure for airlift, and routes whose economic importance may be greater than their standalone airline profitability. At the same time, you will work with the global commercial disciplines airlines use to decide where aircraft should fly. By the end of the programme, you should feel confident sitting across the table from an airline, airport executive, tourism authority or Minister and tackling the questions that will shape the decision: Why this route? Why this airline? Why now? What do the numbers say? What does the airline gain? What are we prepared to support? And what will keep the service flying after launch?

Programme Objectives

On successful completion of the programme, you will be able to:

  •  Assess route opportunities using market, traffic and catchment data.
  •  Evaluate airline fit using network, fleet, schedule and route economics.
  •  Develop airline-ready business cases for new or expanded air services.
  •  Design commercially sound incentive and partnership packages.
  •  Negotiate route-support arrangements with airlines and destination partners.
  •  Monitor route performance using relevant commercial and operational indicators.
  •  Recommend air service strategies suited to Caribbean and small-island markets.
  •  Prioritise route opportunities using commercial, market and strategic criteria.

At a Glance

Course Duration:

June 14 – July 7, 2027

Times:

5:30pm - 8:30pm

Certificate Awarded:

Professional Development Certificate of Competence

Cost:

US $850.00

Registration Deadline:

June 7, 2027

Modality:

Online

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Additional Information

Programme Curriculum

Route Opportunity and Airline Fit

  •  What Makes a Route Commercially Attractive
  •  Airline Network Strategy and Aircraft Deployment
  •  Fleet, Schedule, Connectivity and Market-Access Considerations
  •  Comparing Competing Route Opportunities
  •  Caribbean Market Constraints and Opportunities

Market Demand and Traffic Analysis

  •  Catchment Areas and Passenger Flows
  •  Origin-and-Destination Demand
  •  Leakage, Stimulation and Unserved Demand
  •  Passenger Segmentation and Seasonality
  •  Traffic Forecasting and Demand Scenarios

Route Economics and Commercial Viability

  •  Load Factor, Yield and Revenue Potential
  •  Aircraft Size, Frequency and Operating Costs
  •  Break-Even and Sensitivity Analysis
  •  Competitive Impact and Network Contribution
  •  Testing Whether the Route Genuinely Stacks Up

Building the Airline Business Case

  •  Selecting the Right Airline
  •  Structuring the Route Proposition
  •  Market, Competitor and Network Evidence
  •  Airport and Destination Value Proposition
  •  Preparing and Delivering the Airline Pitch

Incentives, Partnerships and Negotiation

  •  Airport and Destination Incentive Options
  •  Marketing and Tourism Support
  •  Risk-Sharing and Route-Support Structures
  •  Negotiating Airline Requests
  •  Governance and Return on Support

Route Performance and Retention

  •  Post-Launch Route Monitoring
  •  Load Factor, Yield and Passenger Mix
  •  Early Warning Indicators
  •  Route-Performance Reviews with Airlines
  •  Retention, Frequency Growth and Corrective Action

Caribbean Air Service Strategy

  •  Thin Markets and Small Catchment Areas
  •  Tourism, VFR and Regional Demand
  •  Hub Dependence and Connectivity Gaps
  •  Strategic Vs Commercially Viable Routes
  •  Government, Tourism and Airport Interests

Air Service Development Strategy

  •  Route Portfolio Planning
  •  Defend, Grow, Recover and Pursue Priorities
  •  Airline Relationship Management
  •  Route-Development Pipeline
  •  Performance Dashboards and Annual Priorities

How You Will Learn

This programme is practical, interactive and built around real air service development decisions. You will:

  •  Analyse real-world route and market data.
  •  Assess route opportunities from both airport and airline perspectives.
  •  Work through Caribbean and international air service cases.
  •  Test decisions through route-planning and negotiation exercises.
  •  Build and defend an airline-ready route proposition.
  •  Apply the tools directly to your airport, destination or organisation.

 

Assessment

Air Service Development Proposal – Participants will develop an Air Service Development Proposal for a new, expanded or recovered route, supported by market demand, airline fit, route economics and a clear commercial recommendation. The final output will be an airline-ready route development deck and/or executive brief.

 

Benefits for You and Your Organisation

Participants return to their organisations better able to:

  •  Separate promising route opportunities from wish-list routes.
  •  Challenge weak traffic assumptions before they reach an airline.
  •  Speak more credibly with airline network-planning and commercial teams.
  •  Build route proposals around the airline’s commercial reality—not simply the destination’s needs.
  •  Use airport, tourism and market data more effectively when making the case for airlift.
  •  Protect airport value when negotiating incentives and route support.
  •  Spot underperformance early enough to intervene before a service is cut.
  •  Build a more balanced air-service pipeline instead of relying excessively on one airline, gateway or source market.

 

Alignment with Regional and Global Aviation Priorities

This programme supports current priorities in air connectivity and airport development by helping participants to:

  •  Strengthen commercially sustainable air service development and route retention.
  •  Support regional connectivity and improved intra-Caribbean air access.
  •  Build stronger airport-airline-tourism partnerships.
  •  Apply data-driven route planning and airline engagement practices.
  •  Support more resilient and diversified air access for small island markets.
  •  Align route development decisions with wider tourism, trade and economic development priorities.

Who Should Attend

This programme is particularly relevant for professionals who have to attract, negotiate, support, analyse or defend air services, including:

  •  Airport Air Service Development and Route Development Managers
  •  Airport Commercial and Business Development Managers
  •  Airport CEOs, General Managers and Senior Managers with route-development responsibility
  •  Airline Network Planning and Commercial Professionals
  •  Tourism Authority and Destination Marketing Executives
  •  Ministry of Tourism, Transport and Civil Aviation Officials
  •  Civil Aviation Authority Professionals involved in market access
  •  Airport Strategy, Finance and Planning Teams
  •  Investment Promotion and Economic Development Agencies
  •  Chambers of Commerce and destination stakeholders involved in airlift development

All notification of cancellations, deferrals, and substitutions must be received in writing. Please submit your request via e-mail to schsbmopen@cavehill.uwi.edu

CANCELLATIONS

  • The Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business and Management (SCHSBM) reserves the right to make changes to any printed or online information on short courses, instructors, or course information; or cancel any short course due to under-subscription or circumstances beyond its control.
  • Delegates will be notified at least seven (7) days before the start of any course that must be cancelled.
  • Fees for short courses cancelled by the SCHSBM will be refunded in full.
  • The SCHSBM will not be liable for any loss, damages or other expenses that result from course cancellations.

REFUNDS

Due to the costs incurred for program preparation and administration any cancellations received 30 days or less from the program start date are subject to fees as described below. For programs with a virtual component, the start date will be considered the first day of live learning.

Written notice of cancellation received by SCHSBM Refund
30 days or more before the start of the specific course 100% of course fees.
29 to 15 days before the start of the specific course 50% of course fees.
14 days or less before the start of the specific course No refund

Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business and Management
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