ENYI PATRICK ENYI, Covenant University, Canaanland, Ota - Department of Accounting
Email: enyi2001@yahoo.com

The diversity and complexity of the different types of passenger transportations in operation today invokes the need for an efficient transport service management system. Existing transportation models tend towards proffering solution for finding the least cost combination for delivering cargoes from various depots to known remote customer destinations. This paper looks at the possibility of adopting and or modifying the existing model for use in the management of passenger transport services. A preliminary investigation using the Nigerian private transport sector management practices situation show that inability to apply scientific based approach to vehicle capacity assignment and passenger volume projection stands in the way of profit maximization for most indigenous transport companies. The paper clearly suggests that adopting the transportation model algorithm for estimating the best vehicle assignment method to routes will optimize operational decisions.

VINCENT MAK, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology - Department of Marketing
Email: wsvmak@ust.hk

We consider the dynamic pricing policy of a monopolist who sells a perishable product to a fixed number of consumers. We depart from most previous literature in assuming that consumers are strategic while the seller cannot pre-commit credibly to a price path. Moreover, we focus on how inventory constraints and buyer/seller time preferences affect profit. Beginning with a two-period model in which the inventory is commonly known, we find that, when the inventory is low and the seller has time preference over profit, the entire inventory is sold in the first period. But if inventory is high, selling takes place over both periods and some products remain unsold. Counterintuitively, even if procurement and dumping are costless, it is optimal to stock a medium rather than high inventory. We also examine a model in which consumers are uncertain about the inventory, and find that the seller is not better off than when the inventory is commonly known.

JEAN-MICHEL CHAPUIS, University of French Polynesia, LEG/FARGO
Email: jean-michel.chapuis@upf.pf
MATHIEU BECHONNET, affiliation not provided to SSRN

A Revenue Management system helps to optimize products inventory across various markets and points of sale. However, fare classes may contain prices in different currencies for an international airline. Since the EUR/USD exchange rate fluctuates largely for the last year, the motivation of this research is know whether booking limits and bid prices are sensitive to exchange rate movements. We support that exchange rate fluctuations may change the airline's preferences for fare classes across points of sale. Our results point out that a stronger national currency implies to close foreign points of sale earlier and that bid prices decrease when the home currency strengthens against a foreign currency. The experience of Air Tahiti Nui shows that Revenue Managers carefully monitor exchange rate when they fluctuate more than the relative spread between the mean fare of consecutive fare classes.