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In this paper the relationship between air service connectivity and a subset of professional employment as defined by administrative and auxiliary workers for the fifty-nine largest metropolitan areas in the USA for the period 1978 - 88 is examined. The importance of airline service connectivity as an industrial location factor for company facilities is highlighted. Restructuring of the air service network and the emergence of the postderegulation hub-and-spoke system are also discussed. It is argued that connectivity affects, and is simultaneously affected by, administrative and auxiliary employment levels. Empirical findings suggest that changes in connectivity have a greater influence on administrative and auxiliary employment levels than changes in administrative and auxiliary employment have on connectivity.

Many changes have occurred in the air transportation industry in the United States during the past 15 years. Because of the deregulation of the industry, connectivity and flow patterns have changed significantly, particularly with the advent of the hub-and-spoke system. This paper looks at changes in air service connectivity for a group of cities in the Southeast and compares those changes with cities from other regions in the nation. It was found that average connectivity growth was greater for the Southeast. As the region has grown in population and in economic importance, the air transportation infrastructure has kept pace.

The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 introduced high-level competition into the US domestic industry. The resulting network changes have created a deluge of research, largely focused on the hub-and-spoke structure. Over 15 years have passed since deregulation, and the industry still appears somewhat unsettled. Recent concerns of domestic carriers include downsizing of some hubs, and discussions of further consolidation of operations. Mergers may be the answer for airlines with shrinking markets within the US transportation system. This study examines the effect on network structure created by the merger of two carriers from the perspective of hub structures, accessibility and geographic coverage.