When two airport experts at MIT get together to produce a textbook, expectations naturally run high. Professors Odoni and de Neufville are no strangers to the team approach, as they co-teach that university's leading airport course. The resulting book reflects their classroom approach: It is comprehensive, methodological, and takes a scientific approach to airport planning. Like their course, the book is also superbly done. In the process, as often happens when science rules over instinct, many myths are shattered and common errors explained. The only drawback is that to fully enjoy the book, a solid mathematical foundation is required. For those who are math averse, however, there is still plenty to learn.

The authors have taken on many challenges in the way the textbook is structured, and successfully so. The textbook is modular, so that chapters are organized into logically separated topics that can serve as stand-alone references. Occasionally, this leads to repetition, but it greatly enhances the book's value as a reference. The authors very nicely combine U.S. and international content. The text spells out when U.S. and international standards are the same and when they differ. It also attempts to explain many of the differences.

One of the core areas of expertise presented in the book is capacity and delay. This is broken down into the topics of capacity, delay, demand management (both administrative and economic), and air traffic control (Chapters 10 through 13). This is supplemented by additional reference material, for example in the areas of queuing theory and on how to define the design peak hour for passenger terminal planning. All in all, roughly a quarter of the book focuses on capacity and delay.

The book has a few limitations: Many of the colorful anecdotes lack sources, which is unfortunate for the reader who wants to delve into the original material to learn more. This is understandable from the point of view that many of these anecdotes describe costly mistakes carried out by short sighted airport designers. Another, albeit minor, limitation is that many of the examples are taken from Logan International Airport in Boston. This is to be expected based on the authors' location. There are however, many other examples, from all continents. Finally, there are a few areas where the reader my crave more information, notably wildlife management, control of obstructions, and airport noise access restrictions in the post-Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 environment.

None of these limitations seriously detracted from my enjoyment of the book. Where this book really excels is in its ability to break down the most difficult challenges facing airport planners into clearly reasoned analytical methods. This should help decision makers avoid expensive errors and provide a rationale for decisions that are otherwise driven by either instinct or politics.

It is obvious that this will become a standard reference for airport planners, designers, and managers alike. Even experts with many years of experience in the field will learn something new and have their preconceptions challenged. New students who are just entering the field are fortunate to have this text as their guide. Through this book, the authors have considerably broadened their audience from their MIT classroom, and carry on a tradition of sharing superb insights into the problems of airport planning and design.

[Disclaimer: I am a former student of Professors Odoni and de Neufville, and currently involved in a joint research project with the former.]

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