Internet Penetration and Capacity Utilization in the US Airline Industry
研究发现，1993至2007年间，消费者通过互联网查询和购买机票减少了市场摩擦，使航空公司能以更少运力满足需求、提高载运率，且这一效应在竞争更激烈的航线上更显著。
Airline capacity utilization increased dramatically between 1993 and 2007, after staying fairly level following deregulation in 1978. We argue that consumers' use of the Internet to investigate and purchase airline tickets reduces market frictions and allows airlines to meet demand with less capacity and higher load factors. We find that differences in the rate of change of metropolitan-area Internet penetration are positively correlated with differences in the rate of change of airlines' airport-pair load factors. Consistent with our explanation, this correlation is greater on flights in more competitive markets and on flights with fewer total passengers.