MSc Air Transport Planning and Management 2025 Welcome to MORE 2025

Nigel Dennis, Frances Kremarik (Course Leaders), Andrew Cook, Anne Graham, Sugandhi Jayaraman

Nigel Dennis is joint course leader and a specialist in airline economics, forecasting, scheduling and operations. He has served on international committees including those of the Transportation Research Board in the US and the Association for European Transport.

Frances Kremarik is joint course leader. She specialises in airline networks and the North Atlantic market, passenger rights and disability issues, airline marketing, as well as air travel statistics and surveys.

Andrew Cook is a professor leading the department’s air traffic management research and sits on national and international ATM committees. He also lectures on air transport market research and data analysis.

Anne Graham is an emeritus professor, specialising in airport economics, finance and aviation issues related to tourism. She is author of the book Managing Airports published by Butterworth-Heinemann. 

Sugandhi Jayaraman is a lecturer focusing on airport management and operations, sustainability and environmental issues, and the digitisation of air travel.

The MSc Air Transport Planning and Management is a very practical course that brings together academic content with a large number of specialist contributors from the aviation industry. It is uniquely taught in block mode where students attend for modules of five days’ duration, making it very accessible to part-time students working in the aviation industry. Additional activities are arranged for full-time students between the module blocks, including tutorial and discussion sessions, guest lectures and visits to airport facilities and outside events.

Students come from a range of disciplines (first degrees have included Economics, Geography, Engineering, Languages and Music). No prior knowledge of the air transport industry is assumed but a passion for aviation is one of the best qualifications taken in conjunction with a formal academic background or equivalent appropriate work experience.

Students take three taught core modules: Air Transport Economics; Air Transport Management and Operations; and Air Transport Forecasting and Market Research.

They then select three taught module options, currently from a choice of four: Airport Finance and Strategy; Air Transport Policy and Planning; Airline Marketing and Business Models; and Air Traffic Management, Scheduling and Network Planning. Students also have the possibility of a free choice module from another suitable programme in place of one of the three options. Most modules include a group workshop or business game in which students apply their knowledge to work as a team in a competitive environment.

The Research Dissertation is also a core module undertaken in the second half of the study period. A wide range of aspects of the aviation business can be analysed and this year’s dissertations have covered subjects including: impact of narrow body long-haul aircraft; analysis of ATM and navigation aids to enhance African aviation; improving the air cargo logistics of Formula 1 motor racing activities; the role of Premium Economy on long-haul services; analysis of turnaround times at major UK airports; successes and failures of long-haul low-cost travel; air cargo trends at UK airports; a new airline for Sierra Leone; and aviation crisis management following accidents/incidents. 

Guest Speakers: Carole Blackshaw (aviation consultant), Guillaume Burghouwt (Schiphol Group), Andrea Chiesura (Lufthansa Group), Neil Cottrell (formerly British Airways), Kelly Ison (formerly American Airlines), Tim Hawkins (Manchester Airports Group), Gavin Molloy (British Airways), Antoinette Nassopoulos (Foster and Partners), Eric Njoya (Bauhaus Luftfahrt), Cláudia Ribeiro de Almeida (University of the Algarve), Tim Wheen (Heathrow Airport)