Planning for Satellite Airports

Abstract

This study examines the potential role of satellite airports and attempts to define the factors determining the distribution of service and demand among airports serving the same metropolitan area. The analysis indicates that as a natural result of the competition for market share, airlines are impelled to concentrate their operations, to the extent permitted by the prevailing regulatory process, at an individual airport while serving a given market. These results are derived by analyzing the implications of observed patterns of traveler behavior on the strategy of an individual airline within a given airport, and then extending this argument to the general competitive game involving several airports and several airlines. The results imply that any strategy seeking to develop satellite airports will inherently be frustrated unless the competitive behavior of the airlines is deliberately altered.