Regional Airports

Regional Airports have become increasingly important elements of the air network system, both as feeders of hub-and-spoke services and as origins or destination of point-to-point services.Congestion at the main hubs and increasing demand for air transportation - both for passengers and freight services – necessitates revaluation of the overall air systems, with regional airports taking an ever expanding role. Optimisation of air transportation systems within the framework of other forms of transport plays an important part in the present quest for sustainability. Congestion nowadays is not only associated with countries such as the USA and those in the EU, but also a variety of other countries with fast developing economies where there is a strong increase in air transportation demand.The revolution of the existing airport system, including regional airports requires the developing of new optimisation tools which can simulate the whole process and produce optimal solutions. These models are also essential to predict future demands and, in particular the role that regional airports will play.The siting of new airports involves taking into consideration a variety of environmental, ecological, social and economic factors which transcend the problem of transportation resources optimisation itself. Regional Airports can be a powerful driving force behind the development of an area and conversely can result in major problems if they are wrongly sited.

This book gives an overview of the main aspects of the potential development of regional airports particularly the economic aspects, the role of low-cost companies, demand modelling, the airport, airline and access mode choices, and the relationships between capacity constraints on hubs and the growth of regional airports.

This book offers new insights into the theory and practice of economic airport regulation. In light of recent developments in aviation markets and policy, and the debate on airport regulation and benchmarking, it offers case studies on various aspects of economic regulation of city and regional airports. Written by experts in the field, the volume features contributions on the theory of regulation and benchmarking, as well as case studies on recent experiences in Europe and Latin America. This book is divided into three parts: Part I provides the theoretical background for the study of airport regulation and regulatory systems. Competition at airports is discussed, as are common forms of regulation and potential pitfalls. Part II addresses benchmarking, as benchmarking is often applied as an input to the regulatory process. Although benchmarking is necessary, reviews of how benchmarking is applied in the literature and in practice show that improvements can be made. Part III provides case studies on real-world examples. Addressing the question of whether and how European airport regulators set incentives for efficiency, and how benchmarking is used in the regulatory process, this book is an important contribution to the development of the transport industry in Europe and Latin America. It will appeal to scholars and students in transport economics, regional economics and related fields, as well as to practitioners and policy makers in the transport industry.