Gauging the effectiveness of airline schedule buffers in reducing arrival delays

In a novel contribution to the literature on airline flight delays, this paper explores the effects of airline schedule buffers on arrival delays, showing that buffers reduce delays and are thus beneficial. The exercise relies on the approach followed in our previous work, which allows us to measure buffer sizes and flight delays by using government data on the flight sequences of individual aircraft. Our empirical results roughly match the predictions of an analytical model regarding the expected sizes of the buffer effects. • This paper empirically estimates the effect of airline flight and ground buffers on flight delays. • A model relates the arrival delay to the buffers the incoming flight’s arrival delay. • The relationship is estimated using instrumental variables to account for buffer endogeneity. • The results show coefficient magnitudes mostly consistent with the model.