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Airline hub

An airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destination.

Some airlines may use only a single hub, while other airlines use multiple hubs. Hubs are used for both passenger flights as well as cargo flights.

Many airlines also utilize focus cities, which function much the same as hubs, but with fewer flights. Airlines may also use secondary hubs, a non-technical term for large focus cities. Examples include British Airways at Manchester International Airport and US Airways at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Some of the major airlines' most significant hubs are known as fortress hubs; such airports are typically dominated by a single airline, which can fly upwards of 70 percent of a fortress hub airport's traffic. Examples include Northwest Airlines' (NW) hub in Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, Delta Air Lines' (DL) hub in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and American Airlines' (AA) hub in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Some observers argue that the existence of such hubs can stifle competition; ProAir's battle with Northwest when it briefly flew out of Detroit City Airport is often cited as an example. Northwest was able to outcompete the short-lived discount carrier by matching its fares and offering more frequent flights.


Contents

Major passenger airlines and their hubs

North America

South America

Europe

Africa and Middle East

Asia

Oceania

Interesting facts

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Source: City of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County, May 2005; USAirways.com, June 2005

Categories


Airlines | Airports

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