IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v30y2013icp17-25.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Essential Air Service: a local, geographic market perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Grubesic, Tony H.
  • Wei, Fangwu

Abstract

Essential Air Service (EAS) is a federally subsidized program in the United States that provides air transport connections to rural and remote locations. Critics suggest that EAS is too expensive and that many of its airports are underutilized. Proponents of the program argue that connections between rural locales and larger urban hubs help maintain local economic activity. The purpose of this paper is to examine the variations in local geographic markets and their impacts on service levels. Specifically, we use exploratory and confirmatory statistical approaches combined with spatial analysis to examine the geographic, demographic, socio-economic and local business determinants that contribute to commercial flight activity from EAS airports. Results suggest that geographic proximity to larger hubs, subsidy levels and the local population of the EAS catchment area are critical factors in flight activity at EAS airports.

Suggested Citation

  • Grubesic, Tony H. & Wei, Fangwu, 2013. "Essential Air Service: a local, geographic market perspective," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 17-25.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:30:y:2013:i:c:p:17-25
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2013.02.008
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692313000227
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2013.02.008?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alkaabi, Khaula A. & Debbage, Keith G., 2007. "Air passenger demand and skilled labor markets by US metropolitan area," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 121-130.
    2. Button, Kenneth & Taylor, Samantha, 2000. "International air transportation and economic development," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 209-222.
    3. Krugman, Paul, 1994. "Complex Landscapes in Economic Geography," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 412-416, May.
    4. Michael Storper & Anthony J. Venables, 2004. "Buzz: face-to-face contact and the urban economy," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 4(4), pages 351-370, August.
    5. Grubesic, Tony H. & Matisziw, Timothy C. & Murray, Alan T., 2012. "Assessing geographic coverage of the essential air service program," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 124-135.
    6. Eric Pels & Peter Nijkamp & Piet Rietveld, 2001. "Airport and Airline Choice in a Multiple Airport Region: An Empirical Analysis for the San Francisco Bay Area," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(1), pages 1-9.
    7. Anders Malmberg & Peter Maskell, 2002. "The Elusive Concept of Localization Economies: Towards a Knowledge-Based Theory of Spatial Clustering," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 34(3), pages 429-449, March.
    8. Ishii, Jun & Jun, Sunyoung & Van Dender, Kurt, 2009. "Air travel choices in multi-airport markets," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 216-227, March.
    9. Liu, Zhi-Jun & Debbage, Keith & Blackburn, Brendan, 2006. "Locational determinants of major US air passenger markets by metropolitan area," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 12(6), pages 331-341.
    10. Cohas, François J & Belobaba, Peter P & Simpson, Robert W, 1995. "Competitive fare and frequency effects in airport market share modeling," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 33-45.
    11. Reynolds-Feighan, Aisling J., 1995. "European and American approaches to air transport liberalisation: Some implications for small communities," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 29(6), pages 467-483, November.
    12. Debbage, Keith G. & Delk, Dawn, 2001. "The geography of air passenger volume and local employment patterns by US metropolitan core area: 1973–1996," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 159-167.
    13. Grubesic, Tony H. & Matisziw, Timothy C., 2011. "A spatial analysis of air transport access and the essential air service program in the United States," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 93-105.
    14. John Flynn & Samuel Ratick, 1988. "A Multiobjective Hierarchical Covering Model for the Essential Air Services Program," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(2), pages 139-147, May.
    15. Vowles, Timothy M., 1999. "Predicting the loss of commuter air service in the United States," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 13-20.
    16. Matisziw, Timothy C. & Lee, Chieh-Lung & Grubesic, Tony H., 2012. "An analysis of essential air service structure and performance," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 5-11.
    17. Goetz, Andrew R. & Vowles, Timothy M., 2009. "The good, the bad, and the ugly: 30 years of US airline deregulation," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 251-263.
    18. Debbage, Keith G, 1999. "Air transportation and urban-economic restructuring: competitive advantage in the US Carolinas," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 211-221.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tony Grubesic & Ran Wei & Alan Murray & Fangwu Wei, 2016. "Essential Air Service in the United States," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 39(1), pages 108-130, January.
    2. Wu, Hanjun & Hong Tsui, Kan Wai & Ngo, Thanh & Lin, Yi-Hsin, 2020. "Impacts of aviation subsidies on regional wellbeing: Systematic review, meta-analysis and future research directions," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 215-239.
    3. Grubesic, Tony H. & Murray, Alan T. & Matisziw, Timothy C., 2013. "A strategic approach for improving rural air transport in the United States," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 117-124.
    4. Fuellhart, Kurt & Dai, Liang & Grubesic, Tony & Derudder, Ben, 2021. "The U.S. Essential Air Service Program and SARS C0V-2, 2019–2020," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    5. Gillen, David & Hazledine, Tim, 2015. "The economics and geography of regional airline services in six countries," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 129-136.
    6. Fangwu Wei & Tony H. Grubesic, 2015. "A Typology of Rural Airports in the United States: Evaluating Network Accessibility," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 45(1), pages 57-85, Spring.
    7. Salesi, Vinolia Kilinaivoni & Kan Tsui, Wai Hong & Fu, Xiaowen & Gilbey, Andrew, 2022. "Stakeholder perceptions of the impacts of aviation subsidies in the South Pacific Region," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    8. Joshua Hall & Amanda Ross & Christopher Yencha, 2015. "The political economy of the Essential Air Service program," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 165(1), pages 147-164, October.
    9. Wei, Fangwu & Grubesic, Tony H., 2016. "The pain persists: Exploring the spatiotemporal trends in air fares and itinerary pricing in the United States, 2002–2013," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 107-121.
    10. Wei, Fangwu & Grubesic, Tony H., 2015. "The dehubbing Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG): A spatiotemporal panorama," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 85-98.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wu, Hanjun & Hong Tsui, Kan Wai & Ngo, Thanh & Lin, Yi-Hsin, 2020. "Impacts of aviation subsidies on regional wellbeing: Systematic review, meta-analysis and future research directions," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 215-239.
    2. Grubesic, Tony H. & Wei, Fangwu, 2012. "Evaluating the efficiency of the Essential Air Service program in the United States," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(10), pages 1562-1573.
    3. Fangwu Wei & Tony H. Grubesic, 2015. "A Typology of Rural Airports in the United States: Evaluating Network Accessibility," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 45(1), pages 57-85, Spring.
    4. Tony Grubesic & Ran Wei & Alan Murray & Fangwu Wei, 2016. "Essential Air Service in the United States," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 39(1), pages 108-130, January.
    5. Wei, Fangwu & Grubesic, Tony H., 2015. "The dehubbing Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG): A spatiotemporal panorama," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 85-98.
    6. Kim, Amy M. & Ryerson, Megan S., 2018. "A long drive: Interregional airport passenger “leakage” in the U.S," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 237-244.
    7. Wei, Fangwu & Grubesic, Tony H., 2016. "The pain persists: Exploring the spatiotemporal trends in air fares and itinerary pricing in the United States, 2002–2013," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 107-121.
    8. Oscar Díaz Olariaga & Carlos Alonso‐Malaver, 2022. "Impact of airport policies on regional development. Evidence from the Colombian case," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(6), pages 185-210, December.
    9. Calzada, Joan & Fageda, Xavier, 2014. "Competition and public service obligations in European aviation markets," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 104-116.
    10. Farshid Azadian, 2020. "Assessing the effect of urban socioeconomic factors and the financial crisis of 2008 on domestic air cargo traffic in Florida," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 223-241, February.
    11. Grubesic, Tony H. & Matisziw, Timothy C., 2011. "A spatial analysis of air transport access and the essential air service program in the United States," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 93-105.
    12. Allroggen, Florian & Wittman, Michael D. & Malina, Robert, 2015. "How air transport connects the world – A new metric of air connectivity and its evolution between 1990 and 2012," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 184-201.
    13. Yongha Park & Morton E O’Kelly, 2017. "Exploring accessibility from spatial interaction data: An evaluation of the Essential Air Service (EAS) program in the contiguous US air transport system," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(4), pages 930-951, April.
    14. Kirsi Mukkala & Hannu Tervo, 2012. "Regional airports and regional growth: which way does the causality run?," ERSA conference papers ersa12p642, European Regional Science Association.
    15. Mueller, Falko, 2021. "Accessibility for money? An evaluation of subsidized air transport services in Europe and the United States," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 153-164.
    16. Grubesic, Tony H. & Matisziw, Timothy C. & Murray, Alan T., 2012. "Assessing geographic coverage of the essential air service program," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 124-135.
    17. Cho, Woohyun & Windle, Robert J. & Dresner, Martin E., 2015. "The impact of low-cost carriers on airport choice in the US: A case study of the Washington–Baltimore region," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 141-157.
    18. Teixeira, Filipe Marques & Derudder, Ben, 2021. "Spatio-temporal dynamics in airport catchment areas: The case of the New York Multi Airport Region," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    19. Dobruszkes, Frédéric & Lennert, Moritz & Van Hamme, Gilles, 2011. "An analysis of the determinants of air traffic volume for European metropolitan areas," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 755-762.
    20. Alkaabi, Khaula A. & Debbage, Keith G., 2011. "The geography of air freight: connections to U.S. metropolitan economies," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 1517-1529.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:30:y:2013:i:c:p:17-25. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-transport-geography .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.