The book addresses all major aspects to be considered for the design and operation of aircrafts within the entire transportation chain.

It provides the basic information about the legal environment, which defines the basic requirements for aircraft design and aircraft operation. The interactions between airport, air traffic management and the airlines are described. The market forecast methods and the aircraft development process are explained to understand the very complex and risky business of an aircraft manufacturer. The principles of flight physics as basis for aircraft design are presented and linked to the operational and legal aspects of air transport including all environmental impacts.

The book is written for graduate students as well as for engineers and experts, who are working in aerospace industry, at airports or in the domain of transport and logistics.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Volker Gollnick studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Braunschweig. After his degree in 1991 he worked as a flight test engineer and project manager at the German Forces Flight Test Center before he became a project manager for aerospace test and simulation systems and the head of department for Cockpit Systems and Simulation at Eurocopter, Munich in 1999. Since 2007 he is director of the institute "Air Transportation Systems" at the University of Hamburg-Harburg. Also he is director of the DLR-research group for Air Transportation Systems and Technology Assessment.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dieter Schmitt earned his degree in in mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Darmstadt. After his promotion in 1976 he worked as an flight mechanics engineer at MBB (Hamburg) before he became the general manager of the Research and Development Department at Airbus in Toulouse. From 1996 to 2002 he was head of the Institute of Aviation Technologies at the Technical University Munich. Until 2007 he was vice-president for "Future Projects and Technologies" at Airbus and is now retired.

The air transport system..- Historical development of air transport.- Market aspects.- The regulatory framework of the air transportation System.- Aircraft characteristics.- Aircraft manufacturer.- Airlines.- Airport and Infrastructure.- Air Navigation Services.- Environmental aspects of air Transport.- Challenges and competition of air Transport.