Exploring Connectivity in Air Transport as an Equity Factor Frederico Ferreira Valente Nunes Thesis to obtain the Master of Science Degree in Civil Engineering Thesis supervised by Prof. Maria do Rosário Maurício Ribeiro Macário Examination Committee Chairperson: Prof. João Torres de Quinhones Levy Supervisor: Prof. Maria do Rosário Maurício Ribeiro Macário Member of the Committee: Doutor Vasco Domingos Moreira Lopes Miranda dos Reis September 2015 Exploring Connectivity in Air Transport as an Equity Factor| Frederico Valente Nunes | II Exploring Connectivity in Air Transport as an Equity Factor| Frederico Valente Nunes | And our people shall leave to find a new India, One that does not exist yet, On boats built from the same material dreams are made of. Fernando Pessoa, in Renascença Portuguesa E a nossa grande raça partirá em busca de uma Índia nova, Que não existe no espaço, Em naus que são construídas daquilo de que os sonhos são feitos. Fernando Pessoa, in Renascença Portuguesa III Exploring Connectivity in Air Transport as an Equity Factor| Frederico Valente Nunes | IV Exploring Connectivity in Air Transport as an Equity Factor| Frederico Valente Nunes | Abstract (and key-words) Abstract (and key-words) In this Master Dissertation we analysed the equity in air transportation in the European Union (EU) regarding routes and ticket prices. This study aimed to analyse whether the European Union policies in this field of transportation are considering the equity as a factor, whether they ensure the main purposes of the EU and whether they are improving the cohesion between countries. For this, three different indicators were created in order to evaluate equity in air transportation in the EU: Availability, the existence of routes between countries; Affordability, if the prices take into account the purchasing power of each country; and Business Convenience, to evaluate the cost of travelling by air on business in Europe. After this analysis, the same procedures were applied to two Federative Nations, the United States of America and Brazil, in order to analyse the differences and similarities and to develop recommendations focused on improving EU political measures. Key-words: equity; air transportation; European Union; transport policies; equity indicators. Resumo (e palavras-chave) Nesta tese de mestrado foi analisada a equidade no transporte aéreo dentro da União Europeia (UE), no que se refere a rotas e preços de viagem. Estes dados tiveram como objetivo servir de base à análise das políticas europeias e entender se a equidade é um fator chave no desenho destas políticas, se estão a ser cumpridos os propósitos iniciais da União e se estas políticas permitem uma maior coesão no espaço europeu. Para isso foram criados três indicadores com o objetivo de avaliar a equidade no transporte aéreo na EU: Availability (Disponibilidade), se existem rotas entre os estados membros; Affordability (Esforço Económico), se os preços têm em conta o poder de compra de cada país; e Business Convenience (Facilidade de Negócio), por forma a avaliar o custo de viajar de avião para realizar negócios na Europa. Posteriormente a mesma análise foi realizada para duas federações, os Estado Unidos da América e o Brasil, com o objetivo de descobrir semelhanças e diferenças por forma a desenvolver recomendações focadas em melhorar as políticas europeias. Palavras-chave: equidade; transporte aéreo; União Europeia; políticas de transporte; indicadores de equidade. I Exploring Connectivity in Air Transport as an Equity Factor| Frederico Valente Nunes | Abstract (and key-words) II Exploring Connectivity in Air Transport as an Equity Factor| Frederico Valente Nunes | Acknowledgements Acknowledgements This work is based on a bigger project than me or you, the reader. In fact it is based on something that has begun many decades ago, when people of Europe, tired of war, had the idea of building a common ground for improvement and friendship. Therefore my deepest gratitude to everyone who worked and works to create, build and improve the European Union. In a more personal level I have to thank all those who, with their friendship, helped me to reach this point where I am about to get my Master Degree: my parents, who told me what hard work and persistence are, in order to accomplish my dreams; my grandmother who told me how to be kind, how to respect the others and how to be the best person possible; my brothers and other family for being always present and to give me a good and safe environment to build my life; to all my friends that fortunately I was able to find and accompanied me since childhood, that everyday give me reasons to smile, laugh and love them; a special thanks to Joana Barbosa, Inês Marques, Patrícia Cabral, João Paiva and Jorge Miguel for all their support during the writing of this dissertation, for the company and for all their suggestions that have certainly improved this project. An even more special thanks to my supervisor, Professor Maria Rosário Macário for all the dedication and support, the wise words and the suggestions that made this dissertation possible; for her advice that made my journey in Civil Engineering to reach this point in spite of my passion for transportation and transportation policies. Finally my gratitude to two of my schools, Escola Salesiana de Manique and Instituto Superior Técnico, where I studied from my 10th anniversary until the 23rd, that gave me the hard and soft skills to be what I am today and to become what I will be tomorrow. III Exploring Connectivity in Air Transport as an Equity Factor| Frederico Valente Nunes | Acknowledgements IV Exploring Connectivity in Air Transport as an Equity Factor| Frederico Valente Nunes | List of Abbreviations List of Abbreviations EAS – Essential Air Service PPP – Purchasing Power Parity EC – European Council PSO – Public Service Obligations EP – European Parliament TEA-21 – Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century EU – European Union UNSD – United Nations Statistic Division FAA – Federal Aviation Administration USA – United States of America GDP – Gross Domestic Product Countries abbreviations according to Interinstitutional Style Guide (underlined the short name): AT – Republic of Austria IE – Ireland BE – Kingdom of Belgium IT – Italian Republic (Italy) BG – Republic of Bulgaria LT – Republic of Lithuania CY – Republic of Cyprus LU – Grand Duchy of Luxemburg CZ – Czech Republic LV – Republic of Latvia DE – Federal Republic of Germany MT – Republic of Malta DK – Kingdom of Denmark NL – Kingdom of the Netherlands EE – Republic of Estonia PL – Republic of Poland EL – Hellenic Republic (Greece) PT – Portuguese Republic (Portugal) ES – Kingdom of Spain RO - Romania FI – Republic of Finland SE – Kingdom of Sweden FR – French Republic (France) SI – Republic of Slovenia HR – Republic of Croatia SK – Slovak Republic (Slovakia) HU – Hungary UK – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland States, from United States of America, abbreviations: AL – Alabama MT – Montana AK – Alaska NE – Nebraska AZ – Arizona NV – Nevada AR – Arkansas NH – New Hampshire CA – California NJ – New Jersey CO – Colorado NM – New Mexico CT – Connecticut NY – New York DE – Delaware NC – North Carolina DC – District of Columbia ND – North Dakota FL – Florida OH – Ohio GA – Georgia OK – Oklahoma HI – Hawaii OR – Oregon V Exploring Connectivity in Air Transport as an Equity Factor| Frederico Valente Nunes | List of Abbreviations ID – Idaho PA – Pennsylvania IL – Illinois RI – Road Island IN – Indiana SC – South Carolina IA – Iowa SD – South Dakota KS – Kansas TN – Tennessee KY – Kentucky TX – Texas LA – Louisiana UT – Utah ME – Maine VT – Vermont MD – Maryland VA – Virginia MA – Massachusetts WA – Washington MI – Michigan WV – West Virginia MN – Minnesota WI – Wisconsin MS – Mississippi WY – Wyoming MO – Missouri States, from Federative Republic of Brazil, abbreviations: AC – Acre PB – Paraíba AL – Alagoas PR – Paraná AP – Amapá PE – Pernambuco AM – Amazonas PI – Piauí BA – Bahia RJ – Rio de Janeiro CE – Ceará RN – Rio Grande do Norte DF – Distrito Federal RS – Rio Grande do Sul ES – Espírito Santo RO – Rondônia GO – Goiás RR – Roraima MA – Maranhão SC – Santa Catarina MT – Mato Grosso SP – São Paulo MS – Mato Grosso do Sul SE – Sergipe MG – Minas Gerais TO - Tocantins PA – Pará VI Exploring Connectivity in Air Transport as an Equity Factor| Frederico Valente Nunes | Index Index 1. Introduction and Objectives ............................................................................................................. 1 2. Literature Review ............................................................................................................................. 5 2.1. Equity ....................................................................................................................................... 5 2.1.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 5 2.1.2. Existing Equity Indicators in Transport ............................................................................ 7 2.3.1 Transport Equity in today’s society .................................................................................. 9 2.2. Connectivity ........................................................................................................................... 13 2.2.1. Networks ........................................................................................................................ 13 2.2.2.