Abstract

Although rarely included in considerations of public transport, commercial aviation performs a significant role in the global mobility of passengers, with over 4.5 billion passengers being transported on publicly available air services in 2019 alone. This chapter will explore both the derived demand nature of passenger air services and also the supply side, in terms of airlines, airports and airspace. It will consider the global heterogeneity of air passenger services, alighting particularly on issues of social in/equity, the geographical distribution of air service provision and developments in airline business models which have stimulated unprecedented growth in demand for flights in certain world regions. Future constraints and challenges to growth, including growing environmental concerns about aircraft emissions and changing patterns of consumer behaviour, are considered by way of conclusion.