Aalborg Universitet Making of Hub Airports a cross analytical approach based on aeromobilities Bloch, Jens Hundevad Publication date: 2018 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication from Aalborg University Citation for published version (APA): Bloch, J. H. (2018). Making of Hub Airports: a cross analytical approach based on aeromobilities. Aalborg Universitetsforlag. Ph.d.-serien for Det Tekniske Fakultet for IT og Design, Aalborg Universitet General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. ? Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. ? 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Downloaded from vbn.aau.dk on: October 07, 2021 M A KI N G G O F H F MAKING OF HUB AIRPORTS U B B A CROSS ANALYTICAL APPROACH BASED A ON AEROMOBILITIES IRP O RT S BY JENS HUNDEVAD BLOCH DISSERTATION SUBMITTED 2018 JENS HUNDEVAD BLOC HUNDEVAD JENS H MAKING OF HUB AIRPORTS A CROSS ANALYTICAL APPROACH BASED ON AEROMOBILITIES by Jens Hundevad Bloch Dissertation submitted 28 September 2018 Industrial PhD thesis – Aalborg University and Copenhagen Airports A/S Dissertation submitted: 28 September 2018 PhD supervisor: Associate Prof. Claus Lassen Aalborg University Assistant PhD supervisor: Prof. Ole B. Jensen Aalborg University PhD committee: Associate Professor Kristian Olesen (chairman) Aalborg University Professor Frank J. A. Witlox Ghent University Economist & Project Manager Jagoda Egeland Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) PhD Series: Technical Faculty of IT and Design, Aalborg University Department: Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology ISSN (online): 2446-1628 ISBN (online): 978-87-7210-333-4 Published by: Aalborg University Press Langagervej 2 DK – 9220 Aalborg Ø Phone: +45 99407140 [email protected] forlag.aau.dk © Copyright: Jens Hundevad Bloch Printed in Denmark by Rosendahls, 2018 CV On my 18th birthday, my mother gave me an old aluminum propeller from an aircraft – it was the best birthday present ever. It represents a combination of hardcore technical development but also the elegance of flying. Both in my personal and professional life all parts of aviation have always fascinated me. During my studies at Copenhagen Business School, first as a bachelor student in Business Administration (HA-almen) I wrote my bachelor thesis about Copenhagen Airport, and later as master student in Strategic and Financial Management (cand.merc.FSM) I wrote again about Copenhagen Airport in my final thesis. These two project gave me insights into some of the academic literature about aviation. During my final years as a student, I went for a job interview in Copenhagen Airport within an analytical department. It sounded interesting and I was very keen on getting the job. On my way to the interview, I passed through the landside terminals of Copenhagen Airport where passengers were lined up for check-in. The atmosphere here – the feeling we all experience when going on new adventures – combined with the professional possibilities to be part of this environment only boosted my enthusiasm concerning aviation. During years of working in Copenhagen Airport, this fascination has only increased. My first employment at Copenhagen Airport was as analyst in the aviation department working on the regulatory charge negotiations between the airport and airlines. Later I worked as Senior Financial analyst with focus on risk assessment, long-term financial impact of investments and charge negotiations. These aspects of aviation provided extensive insight into the financial side of aviation infrastructure. In early 2015, I had the opportunity to start this Industrial PhD with a focus on the development of hub airports across Europe. This possibility gave me a chance to develop another dimension of the fascination of aviation: what drives the development of aviation. In contrast to my previous field of expertise, this PhD gave me the possibility to dive in to a new academic field, which has opened a new and captivating dimension of aviation. 2 _ ENGLISH SUMMARY This PhD thesis provides a contribution to the understanding of hub airports based on an aeromobilities perspective. The research project is founded on four international case studies of European hub airports, where I have developed an understanding of the driving forces within society for developing successful hub airports. These findings will help to develop strategies for Copenhagen Airport to increase connectivities for the benefit of the Danish society. The thesis is grounded in a challenging situation for Copenhagen Airport, where its hub function has decreased for decades, challenging the global reach for Denmark. In addition, this thesis contributes to the development of the research field: Aeromobilities, which has a wider societal perspective on aviation. Currently, the conventional aviation research is mostly based on a quantitative perspective for understanding the drivers of aviation; however, by having this aeromobilities approach based on quantitative methods, the research is able to complement the conventional research by unfolding the underlying discourses and rationalities of the making of hub airports. Based on this I have outlined the following main research question: What are the driving forces, mechanism, discourses and rationalities that are associated with the development of selected European hub airports and upon evaluation of these, and what can be learned in the Danish context in relation to aviation policies and governance? Consequently, the ambition is to achieve a theoretical and empirical understanding of hub airports’ development potential, and based on this, to assess the relationship between the Danish context and Copenhagen Airport. In order to address the above question, I have outlined three underlying questions for which the answers will unfold the answer to the main question. 1. How can a hub airport theoretically and methodologically be understood and investigated? 2. What are the driving mechanisms and patterns of meaning behind the production of aeromobilities at selected European hub airports? 3. In a Danish context, what can be learned from the study of the selected European hub airports? Structure of the thesis Part 1 (chapter 1-3) This part contains the introduction and motivation for this PhD thesis. The historical development of aviation is described. Further, it is elaborated 3 how aviation and airports are researched within the conventional aviation approach. Lastly, aeromobilities are unfolded in order to understand and research aviation and airports in a wider context, where airports can be understood as a strategical node for the global flows of ideas, people and culture. Part 2 (chapter 4-6) I will argue for a foundation for aeromobilities based on the meta-theoretical position of critical realism where the research field is addressed as an open system. Such a position focuses on dynamic causalities along discourses, rationalities and meanings as essential for understanding the system. Based on this meta-theoretical position, the methodology of case studies are presented. Additional the theoretical framework of governance is introduced, and together with a set of theoretical lenses related to Policies and Materialities, the analytical framework for this thesis is developed. Part 3 (Chapter 7-11) This part contains four case studies for the hub airports in Amsterdam, Helsinki, Brussels and Zurich. Based on quantitative analysis of the traffic system, the qualitative analysis focuses on the driving forces within the system through the analytical framework in order to identify dynamic causalities, discourses and underlying rationalities. During these analyses, elements are highlighted which are relevant for developing an airport governance model. Finally, the four cases are analyzed across, and four themes are identified as foundation for the production of hub airports. Part 4 (Chapter 12) This part covers the case of Copenhagen Airport. First an analysis of the airport based on the analytical framework, and lastly a perspective on these findings in relation to the themes identified in the cross case analysis of the four case airports. Part 5 (Chapter 13-15) Here are the overall conclusions to the main research question and the three underlying questions presented. The answers are summarized in 11 findings, which consist of three theoretical findings, then four empirical findings and lastly four key findings in relation to Copenhagen Airport. Further, in the last chapters: thoughts on alternative approaches to Copenhagen Airport as a hub are articulated along suggestions for further research themes. 4 _ DANSK RESUME Denne ph.d. afhandling er et bidrag til forståelsen af hub lufthavne baseret på et aeromobilities perspektiv. Forskningsprojektet er baseret på fire internationale case studier af europæiske hub lufthavne,