"This volatility makes choosing a niche carrier over a top 16 carrier potentially risky," said SeaIntel CEO Alan Murphy.
If on-time performance is a priority, then niche carriers offer better rewards, but with higher risks, he said.
The top 16 carriers have both a lower degree of volatility than the niche carriers, and are grouped much closer together.
This consistency in the top 16 carriers can, to a large degree, be explained by their high level of interconnectedness, through alliances VSAs and slot charters, said the SeaIntel analysts.
Said Mr Murphy: "There is the obvious reward of getting higher on-time performance if the right niche carrier is chosen, but there is also the obvious pitfall of extremely poor schedule reliability if the wrong niche carrier is chosen."
If on-time performance is a priority, then niche carriers offer better rewards, but with higher risks, he said.
The top 16 carriers have both a lower degree of volatility than the niche carriers, and are grouped much closer together.
This consistency in the top 16 carriers can, to a large degree, be explained by their high level of interconnectedness, through alliances VSAs and slot charters, said the SeaIntel analysts.
Said Mr Murphy: "There is the obvious reward of getting higher on-time performance if the right niche carrier is chosen, but there is also the obvious pitfall of extremely poor schedule reliability if the wrong niche carrier is chosen."