Airport choice in a multiple airport region

Abstract

This paper reports on an investigation of air traveler behavior in choosing among departure airports in a multiple airport region. Data from a 1980 survey of air passengers in the San Francisco Bay Area were used to study the characteristics of airport choice for local residents. Multinomial logit models were developed for business and nonbusiness travelers. The analysis demonstrates that ground access time and the frequency of direct air service to the chosen destination can account for a large portion of the variation in airport usage patterns, but that both access time and frequency have nonlinear effects on airport utility. It also suggests that even multi-stop direct service is strongly preferred to connecting flights. The results highlight the importance of attention to ground access in planning for multiple airport systems, and the difficulty of predicting airport use without information about market-specific airline schedules. © 1987.