A new GIS database documenting the prevalence of U.S. air service development incentives

Abstract

New air service routes are viewed as an important driver of local and regional economic growth by some communities. In the United States (U.S.), this recognition has led to an increase in: (1) the number of airports offering air service incentive agreements, and (2) the frequency with which new agreements are initiated. Despite the recognized economic importance of air service incentives, and an identified need for a database categorizing U.S. air service incentives, no such database existed. This project fills that gap by compiling a database for all 382 U.S. commercial airports included in the Federal Aviation Administration’s 2017 Terminal Area Forecast and makes it publicly available to other researchers via an online geographic information system (GIS) tool. In this paper, we describe this new database, provide a descriptive analysis of air service incentive agreements in the U.S., and identify topics future research can investigate using our database. It is our hope that this database will serve as a foundation on which to build new research related to air service incentive programs.