Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP12485
Authors: Federico Ciliberto; Emily Cook; Jonathan Williams
Abstract: We study the effect of consolidation on airline network connectivity using three measures of centrality from graph theory: Degree, Closeness, and Betweenness. Changes in these measures from 1990 to 2015 imply: i) the average airport services a greater proportion of possible routes, ii) the average origin airport is fewer stops away from any given destination, and iii) the average hub is less often along the shortest route between two other airports. Yet, we find the trend toward greater connectivity in the national network structure is largely una ffected by consolidation, in the form of mergers and codeshare agreements, during this period.
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Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| consolidation events (G14) | network connectivity (D85) |
| mergers and codeshare agreements (L14) | centrality measures (D79) |
| US Airways and America West merger (L93) | average airport degree centrality (L93) |
| Delta and Northwest merger (L93) | average closeness (C10) |
| mergers (G34) | betweenness centrality measure (D85) |