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SOME SPATIAL COMPONENTS OF REGIONAL AIR SERVICE DEMAND IN THE SOUTHEAST William R. Stanley and Thomas F. Baucom* The objective of this paper is to examine spatially several socio­ economic variables to help explain the magnitude and distribution of scheduled non-stop flight frequency at thirty southeastern cities in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The isolation of these variables in a confined regional setting can provide greater insight into the elusive concept of hierarchical demand for air service. With medium and large cities having the best opportunity for maintaining scheduled air service, the study of existing service in a regional setting may serve to focus upon critical factors influencing its spatial variation. The justification for the use of flight frequency, rather than passenger volume, as the measure of air service is based on the fact that airlines try to keep services in line with existing passenger demand. (1) The premise is that when individual airline load factors are similar, flight frequency is a useful component for generalizing passenger demand. There is evidence of a higher degree of correlation between these two factors than was the case but a few years ago. (2) Data for airline flight frequency is readily gleaned from published schedules. (3) CONNECTIONS. Frequency of scheduled flights indicates the relative importance of air centers. (4) Frequency of nonstop flights is an even better measure of the ties between urban places. This is especially true where direct-flight cities are separated by others also receiving scheduled service. Air centers have been selected for this study on the basis of their having at least one nonstop scheduled flight per week to another city in the region (see Figure 1). The linkage pattern depicted empha­ sizes Atlanta’s dominance as the principal regional air center. The dis­ tribution of one-way, nonstop links suggests the existence of other regional air centers of importance and evidence of possible equipment turn-around routes. As of January, 1970, there were thirty cities inter-connected with at least one nonstop flight per week: ten in Georgia, thirteen in North Carolina, and seven in South Carolina. By population, the connecting cities ranged from over one and one half million for Atlanta to less than 25,000 for Elizabeth City. Not unexpectedly the volume of nonstop flights has been distributed unequally among the cities. (5) Nine cities *D r. S ta n ley is associa te p r o fe s s o r o f g e o g r a p h y at th e U n iv e rsity o f S ou th C arolin a. M r. B a u co m is re se a rch a n a ly st fo r th e C h arlotte C h a m b er o f C o m m e rce , C h arlotte, N o rth C a rolin a . T h e p a p e r w a s a cce p te d fo r p u b lica tio n in J u n e 1972. 146 So u t h e a s t e r n G e o g r a p h e r F ig u re 1 had more inbound than outbound flights, nine had an equal number in both directions, and twelve had more outbound than inbound (see Figure 2). Five metropolitan areas, Atlanta, Charlotte, Columbia, Augusta, and Raleigh-Durham, accounted for slightly over fifty percent of the total weekly nonstop flights. FACTORS A FFECTIN G NONSTOP FLIGHT FREQUENCY . Except for Atlanta and Charlotte, the volume of nonstop flights was found to be only tenuously related to city size. Thus, to explore further the relationship, if any, between frequency of nonstop flights and an urban area’s socioeconomic importance, five variables were selected. (6) These relevant variables were: Population, to indicate air passenger potential; Aggregate Income, to measure an urban area’s over-all economic visi­ bility; Selected Services Payroll, to show the scale of a city’s develop­ ment level; Median Income, to monitor economic achievement; and the number of Government Employees, to indicate the level of govern­ mental administrative impact. When these five variables...

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