The Resident Subsidy Impact on Regional Air Carrier Route Development: A Case Study
Abstract Subsidizing air mobility for Canary Island residents may have an unforeseen impact on regional air carrier route development and this could exacerbate congestion in airports that operate near to their maximum threshold. Reginal routes often require the use of small aircraft such as those from the ATR (Avions de Transport Régional) family. These aircraft types have [some specific characteristics related to its time performance. If airports manage a large proportion of ATR aircrafts, one of their main activities, such as landing and taking off operations (LTO), may become congested, and affect airport capacity. Air carrier economies might be negatively affected because of delays in airport operations. For instance, air carriers’ fuel costs might rise due to aircraft’s increased LTO time. This paper seeks to analyze the impact of regional aviation route development for the Canary airport network; specifically, the effect that it has on airport capacity and air carrier economies.