Changing Geography of China's International Air Transport Served by Chinese Airlines

92 Pages·2016·1.38 MB·English

by  Xumei Liu

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Xumei Liu
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes
Part of the Geography Commons
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Liu, Xumei, "Changing Geography of China’s International Air Transport Served by Chinese Airlines. "
Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2008.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/3656
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and
Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE:
Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected].
To the Graduate Council:
I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Xumei Liu entitled "Changing Geography of China’s
International Air Transport Served by Chinese Airlines." I have examined the final electronic copy
of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Geography.
Shih-Lung Shaw, Major Professor
We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance:
Bruce A. Ralston, Thomas L. Bell
Accepted for the Council:
Carolyn R. Hodges
Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School
(Original signatures are on file with official student records.)
To the Graduate Council:

I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Xumei Liu entitled “Changing Geography of
China’s International Air Transport Served by Chinese Airlines”. I have examined the final
electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in
Geography.

Shih-Lung Shaw, Major Professor

We have read this thesis
and recommend its acceptance:

Bruce A. Ralston
_________________________

Thomas L. Bell
_________________________

Accepted for the Council:

Carolyn R. Hodges
_____________________________________
Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School
Changing Geography of China’s International Air Transport
Served by Chinese Airlines

A Thesis
Presented for the
Master of Science
Degree
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Xumei Liu
August 2008
Copyright © 2008 by Xumei Liu
All rights reserved.

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DEDICATION
To my family, without whom it would not be possible for me to come to the United States to
continue my pursuit of higher education.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I earnestly thank my advisor, Dr. Shih-Lung Shaw, for his unreserved and continuous
support on both my Master’s research and overall academic well-being. I also sincerely thank Dr.
Bruce Ralston for his time and kind assistance in writing and debugging codes and Dr. Thomas
Bell for serving on my committee.
I must also note the kind assistance of Jonathan Witcoski and Paul McDaniel, who made
many useful suggestions and helpful comments that ensured the integrity of this paper.

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ABSTRACT
This research examines international air transport served by Chinese airlines from 1990 to
2004. Specifically, this research examines how the spatial patterns of air transport networks
changed during this period. Particular attention was given to the competition among the three
major hubs designated by the Civil Aviation Administration of China: Beijing, Shanghai, and
Guangzhou. This paper also measured regional differences denoted by air transport as well as the
impacts of several significant incidents on China’s international air transport.
Data were obtained from a series of China Transportation and Communication Yearbooks
(1990-2004). Each yearbook compiles airline statistics of routes, number of scheduled flights, and
passenger and freight volumes. These figures were imported into ArcGIS for relevant analyses.
Two different types of analyses were carried out in this study: network analysis and descriptive
statistical analysis. Network analysis was performed to measure structural development of the
network as well as individual growth of the three major hubs. Descriptive statistical analysis was
conducted to assess regional disparities and to evaluate the impacts of economic, social, and
political events and circumstances on the airline industry.
Major changes in network connectivity were observed, which were largely due to the
presence/absence of provincial capitals, tourist cities and/or secondary cities in the network. All
three major hubs experienced low to moderate increase in accessibility from 1990 to 2004.
Shanghai was most likely to develop into the most accessible hub in the network. Air traffic
displayed a great disparity among different world regions. The largest air traffic flows resided in
Asia. Europe placed second followed by North America and Oceania. Links between China and
Africa were suspended after 1994 and connections with Latin America were absent during the
entire study period. Several major declines in air traffic were associated with the 1997 Asian
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Currency Crisis, the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the outbreak of Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003.
The study concludes that China’s international airline network is moving towards a system
with a high level of connectivity and great coverage.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Introduction...................................................................................................................1
1.1 Research Background...............................................................................................................1
1.2 Brief Introduction to China’s Airline Industry.........................................................................2
1.3 Research Justification...............................................................................................................5
1.4 Research Objectives..................................................................................................................8
1.5 Thesis Organization..................................................................................................................9
Chapter 2: Literature Review........................................................................................................10
2.1 Transport Geography and Air Transportation.........................................................................10
2.2 State Intervention Impacting Air Transportation....................................................................12
2.3 Other Factors Impacting Air Transportation...........................................................................16
2.4 Hub and Spoke Network and Network Analysis....................................................................21
Chapter 3: Data and Analysis.......................................................................................................28
3.1 Study Area..............................................................................................................................28
3.2 Data Acquisition.....................................................................................................................32
3.3 Data Analysis..........................................................................................................................34
Chapter 4: Results and Discussion................................................................................................48
4.1 Change of Network Connectivity...........................................................................................48
4.1 Change of Nodal Accessibility...............................................................................................51
4.3 Regional Differences..............................................................................................................56
Chapter 5: Conclusion...................................................................................................................65
References.....................................................................................................................................68
Appendix.......................................................................................................................................74
Vita................................................................................................................................................80

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