Airport Barriers to Entry in the US

An examination is conducted on the effects of three airport barriers to entry - slot controls, gate constraints, and gate utilisation during peak operating periods - on both yields and entry in the US airline industry.Data aregathered on allentries into thetop 500 US non-stop city pair markets for the one-year period from the third quarter of 1996 to the second quarter of 1997. Our results show that all three of the barriers have a significant impact on yields, while high gate utilisation during peak airport operating periods is the most significant deterrent to entry. These results indicate that either the construction of new gates, or the undertaking of other provisions to allow new entrants gate access during peak periods, would be most effective in increasing entry onto routes from congested airports.