Yi Gao
Associate Professor
Contact Info
765-496-6276
TERM 224
West Lafayette
Office Hours
By appointment
Dr Yi Gao is an Associate Professor in the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology of 鶹Ʒ. He teaches Aviation Management related courses both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr Gao actively conducts applied and empirical research and publishes on a number of peer reviewed academic journals, covering a broad range of air transportation topics. He has previously served as the Editor for during 2021 – 2023. Before joining Purdue as a faculty member, Dr Gao was the Aviation Course Director for Swinburne University of Technology (Australia).
For more information about Dr Yi Gao, please visit his .
Research Interests
- Transport Geography
- Air Transportation Economics & Operations
- Customer Loyalty Programs/Frequent Flyer Programs
PhD, Technology, 鶹Ʒ
- President's Award, University Aviation Association, 2022
- Teaching Leadership Award, 鶹Ʒ, 2022
- Bilsland Dissertation Fellow, 鶹Ʒ, 2009 - 2010
- Frederick N. Andrews Fellow, 鶹Ʒ, 2006 -2009
- Wang, S., Dou, Z., Liu, J., & Gao, Y. (2025). The fate of Akron-Canton Regional Airport following the dehubbing of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and exodus of Southwest Airlines. Case Studies on Transport Policy, 101497.
- Wang, S., Kong, N. N., Bilotkach, V., Karanki, F., & Gao, Y. (2025). What drives the dynamics of airport parking revenues? A panel study of U.S. airports. Research in Transportation Business & Management, 61, 101390.
- Chrysogelos, N., Bakun, L., Nguyen, A., Baerson, D., Lu, C-T., & Gao, Y. (2025). Bridging the gap: Evaluating skill alignment between collegiate aviation management programs and industry needs. Collegiate Aviation Review International, 43(1), 36–64. Retrieved from
- Dou, Z., Bilotkach, V., & Gao, Y. (2024). Flight passes do stimulate consumers’ spending: A case study of China Eastern Airlines’ “Wild Your Weekends.” Journal of Air Transport Management, 119.
- Dou, Z., Keller, J., & Gao, Y. (2024). Navigating Massive Text Reports: An Automated Approach to Aviation Safety Reporting System Safety Event Detection. Transportation Research Record, 0(0).
- Karanki, F., Volodymyr, B., Gao, Y., & Lu, C. T. (2024). The economic impact of E-commerce on the U.S. airports: Cost savings and productivity growth. Journal of Air Transport Management, 118,102598,
- Liu, J., Beck, C. S., & Gao, Y. (2024). Can you judge a book by its cover? An analysis of travelers’ perceptions of airline logos and airlines’ business models. Journal of Air Transport Management, 115, 102543,
- Wang, S., Kong, N., & Gao, Y. (2024). Use mobile location data to infer airport catchment areas and calibrate Huff gravity model in the New York metropolitan area. Journal of Transport Geography, 114, 103790,
- Wang, S., Zheng, Y., & Gao, Y. (2023). Airport Ground Access Choice Between Transportation Network Companies and Parking: A Case Study of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace, 10(4). DOI:
- Wu, S., & Gao, Y. (2023). Machine Learning Approach to Analyze the Sentiment of Airline Passengers’ Tweets. Transportation Research Record. 2678(2), 48-56.
- Gao, Y. (2022). Benchmarking the recovery of air travel demands for US airports during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 13, 100570,
- Wang, S. & Gao. Y. (2021). A literature review and citation analyses of air travel demand studies published between 2010 and 2020. Journal of Air Transport Management, 97, 102135,
- Gao. Y., Hao, Y., Wang, S., & Wu, H. (2021). The dynamics between voluntary safety reporting and commercial aviation accidents. Safety Science, 141,105351,
- Gao, Y. (2021). What is the busiest time at an airport? Clustering U.S. hub airports based on passenger movements. Journal of Transport Geography, 90, 102931.
- Gao, Y., Sobieralski, J. B. (2021). Spatial and operational factors behind passenger yield of U.S. nonhub primary airports. Journal of Air Transport Management, 90, 101967.
- Gao, Y. (2020). Estimating the sensitivity of small airport catchments to competition from larger airports: A case study in Indiana. Journal of Transport Geography, 82, 102628.
- Gao, Y. (2020). A conceptual framework for valuating airline frequent flyer program miles. International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace, 7(1).
- Gao, Y., & Choy, N. W. (2019). Brand awareness, purchase intention and price premium of international airlines operating between Australia and the United Kingdom. International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace, 6(3).
- John H. Mott, Sarah M. Hubbard, Chien-Tsung Lu, Joseph B. Sobieralski, Yi Gao, Michael S. Nolan, Bhavana Kotla. (2019). Competency-based education: A framework for aviation management programs. Collegiate Aviation Review International, 37 (1),
- Gao, Y., Carrigg, M., Lewinski, R., Polderman, D., & Tkalcevic, P. (2018). The perceived value of frequent flyer program benefits among Australian travelers. International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace, 5(3).
- Gao, Y & Rajendran, N. (2017). Safety Climate of Ab-Initio Flying Training Organizations: The Case of an Australian Tertiary (Collegiate) Aviation Program. Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering. 7(1).
- Gao, Y., & Kong, S. (2016). Personality types of pilot students: A study of an Australian collegiate aviation program. International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace, 3(3).
- Gao, Y., Bruce, P. J., & Rajendran, N. (2015). Safety climate of a commercial airline: A cross-sectional comparison of four occupational groups, Journal of Air Transport Management, 47, 162-171, .
- Gao, Y. & Koo, T. T.R. (2014). Flying Australia–Europe via China: A qualitative analysis of the factors affecting travelers' choice of Chinese carriers using online comments data. Journal of Air Transport Management, 39, 23-29, .
- Chandra, Samuel; Chitgopeker, Chetan K.; Crawford, Ben; Dwyer, John; & Gao, Yi (2014) Establishing a benchmark of fuel efficiency for commercial airline operations, Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering, 4 (1),
- Gao, Y., Bruce, P. J., Newman, D. G., & Zhang, C. B. (2013). Safety climate of commercial pilots: The effect of pilot ranks and employment experiences. Journal of Air Transport Management, 30, 17-24.
- Gao, Y., Au, K. T. S., Kwon, H. J., & Leong, E. W. (2013). Learning styles of Australian aviation students: An assessment of the impact of culture. Collegiate Aviation Review, 31(1), 17-26.
- Fanjoy, R., & Gao, Y. (2011). Learning styles of Chinese aviation students. International Journal of Applied Aviation Studies, 11(1), 57-66.
Books & Edited Books
- Bruce, P. J., Gao, Y., & King, J. M. C. (2017). Airline Operations: A Practical Guide. United Kingdom: Routledge
Sponsored Project Reports
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Toolkit for Establishing Airport Catchment Areas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. .
- National Research Council. 2023. State of Airport Loyalty Programs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. .
Recent Conference Presentations (Since 2018)
- Gao, Y. (2025). Robust Modeling of Discrepancies between Scheduled and Actual Flight Block Times. Paper presented on the Transportation Research Symposium (TRS). Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
- Wang, S., Karanki, F., Dou, Z., & Gao, Y. (2025) The Economic Role of Low-Cost Carriers and Ultra-Low-Cost Carriers in Non-Aeronautical Revenue Dynamics. Paper presented on the 2025 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting. Washington, DC.
- Gao, Y. (2024). Cooperating with Airports at the Loyalty Level as Next Frontier in Revenue Generation. Paper presented on the 2024 Loyalty & Awards Conference. Bangkok, Thailand.
- Liu, J., Kong, N., & Gao, Y. (2024). The Role of Airport Expansions in Urban Growth: The Impact Of New Terminals On Local Land Use. Poster presented on the 2024 AGX|SWAAG Joint Annual Conference, San Marcos, TX.
- Dou, Z, Wang, S. & Gao, Y. (2024) Investigating Temporal Relationships Among US Commercial Airports with Similar Commercial Flight Delay Patterns. Paper presented on the 27th Air Transport Research Society Conference. Lisbon, Portugal.
- Gao. Y. & Liu, J. (2024). Navigating the Skies of Airline Customer Loyalty: A Comprehensive Review of Airline Frequent Flyer Program Studies. Paper presented on the 27th Air Transport Research Society Conference. Lisbon, Portugal.
- Wang, S., Dou, Z., Oluwumi, T., Liu, J. & Gao, Y. (2024). The Domino Effect of Airport Dehubbing: A case study of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Akron Canton Airport. Paper presented on the 27th Air Transport Research Society Conference. Lisbon, Portugal.
- Wang, S. & Gao. Y. (2024). Determinants of Airport Parking Revenues: An Econometric Analysis (ACRP Graduate Research Award). Paper presented on the 2024 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting. Washington, DC.
- Dou, Z. & Gao, Y. (2024). Flight Passes Do Stimulate Consumers’ Spending: A Case study of China Eastern Airlines' “Wild Your Weekends”. Poster presented on the 2024 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting. Washington, DC.
- Karanki, F., Bilokach, V., Gao, Y. & Lu, C. T. (2024). The Economic Impact of E-Commerce on U.S. Airports: Cost Savings and Productivity Growth. Paper presented on the 2024 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting. Washington, DC.
- Gao, Y. & Lu, C.T. (2023). Review and Revamp Aviation Management as a Discipline. Workshop presented on the 2023 UAA Annual Collegiate Aviation Conference & Expo. St. Petersburg, FL.
- Patankar, M., Henneberry, D., Karanki, F., Gao, Y, & Wang, P. H. (2023), Competency-based Assessment. Workshop presented on the AABInternational Annual Meeting 2023. Indianapolis, IN.
- Gao, Y. (2023). Fly Net Zero by 2050: Does the airline industry forget the trips from home to airports? Study presented on the 2023 Global Polytechnic Summit. St. George, UT.
- Gao, Y. (2023). Mapping Airport Catchment Areas: A Multidimensional Approach. Study presented on the 11th National Aviation System Planning Symposium. Irvine, CA.
- Wang, S. & Gao, Y. (2023). How Does Mobile Location of Airport Passengers Tell and Predict Airport Catchment Areas: A Case Study of the New York Metropolitan Multi Airport Region. Poster presented on the 11th National Aviation System Planning Symposium. Irvine, CA.
- Wu, S. & Gao. Y. (2023). Happy or Grumpy?: A Machine Learning Approach to Analyze the Sentiment of Airline Passengers' Tweets. Poster presented on the 2023 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting. Washington DC.
- Wang, S., Zheng, Y. & Gao. Y. (2023). Airport Ground Access Choice Between Transportation Network Companies and Parking: A Case Study of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Poster presented on the 2023 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting. Washington DC.
- Wang. S, Kong, N. & Gao, Y. (2022). The Use of mobility data in estimating airport catchment areas: A case study of a multiple airport region in Texas. Poster presented on the on the 2022 Applied Geography Conference (AGX).
- Keller, J., Mendonca, F., Spence, T., Asunda, P. & Gao, Y. (2022). Development and evaluation of an online fatigue training course for collegiate aviation pilots. Paper presented on the National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS) 2022. Daytona Beach, FL.
- Gao. Y., Liu, J., & Wang, S. (2022). Visualize Your Research Work. Workshop presented on the 2022 UAA Annual Collegiate Aviation Conference & Expo. Colorado Springs, CO.
- Liu, J., Beck, C. & Gao, Y. (2022). Passengers' Perceptions of Airlines' Logo Design and Their Business Models. Paper presented on the 25th Air Transport Research Society Conference (Hybrid). Antwerp, Belgium.
- Gao, Y. & Wang, S. (2021). Show me the data: An introduction of public datasets for empirical aviation studies. Workshop presented on the 2021 UAA Annual Collegiate Aviation Conference & Expo. Memphis, TN.
- Wang, S. & Gao, Y. (2021). Can COVID-19 data be used to guide airline stock trading during the pandemic? Paper presented on the 24th Air Transport Research Society Conference. Sydney, Australia.
- Gao, Y. (2019). Precision Mapping Airport Catchment Area. Paper presented on the Passenger Loyalty China Summit 2019 (PLCS2019). Shanghai, China.
- Gao, Y. (2018). The possibility of transforming the loyalty arm of Airlines into a data company. Paper presented on the Passenger Loyalty China Summit 2018 (PLCS2018). Shanghai, China.
- Gao, Y. & Kuang, J. (2018). Understanding social media in China. Presented in the 10th Annual Loyalty Conference (Loyalty2018). Bangkok, Thailand
- Educator Trustee, University Aviation Association (UAA)
- Air Transport Research Society (ATRS)
- The Airline Group of the Int’l Federation of Operational Research Societies (AGIFORS)
- International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT)
- AV050 - Standing Committee on Airport Terminals and Ground Access, Transportation Research Board (TRB)