Measuring the Influence of the Commodity Market Performance over the Supply and Demand of Regional Air Travel

ABSTRACT: The existing relations between the supply of air transport services and economic development have been a relevant area of research in transport management. This study aims to analyze the influence of the productive performance of some Brazilian exported commodities over the demand for regional passenger air transportation on the regions where those commodities are produced. In order to do so, this study used the linear regression method, checking what the relations are, if any exist, between the productive performance of those areas and the supply and demand for passenger seats in airports located in areas producing those commodities. The mathematical model used was validated with a control model that, in its turn, examined the correlation between macroeconomic and population aggregates and the global domestic demand for passenger air travel. The results show ambiguous relations between explicative and dependent variables, because in some localities the correlation was significantly higher than in others. The main contribution is to analyze how the regional aviation market is exposed to the productive performance on markets with high level of economic specialization.