A network design in which traffic is routed through a small number of central hub points rather than sent directly between every pair of origins and destinations. Airlines widely adopted the model after the United States deregulated domestic air travel in 1978, since routing passengers through a hub lets a carrier serve many more city pairs with fewer aircraft, at the cost of a connection for many travelers. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Core ConcernRouting traffic through central hubs to serve more origin destination pairs with fewer direct connections. 1 FAQs
Why did airlines adopt the hub and spoke model?
Routing passengers and cargo through a small number of central hubs lets a carrier serve far more city pairs with fewer aircraft, at the cost of a connection for many travelers.
A hub and spoke network routes traffic through a small number of central hub points rather than sending it directly between every pair of origins and destinations. Airlines widely adopted the model after the United States deregulated domestic air travel in 1978, since routing passengers through a hub lets a carrier serve many more city pairs with fewer aircraft, at the cost of a connection for many travelers. Delta Air Lines pioneered the spoke-hub distribution model itself as early as 1955, well before deregulation made it standard industry practice. The same logic now organizes freight logistics: FedEx centralizes its air shipping operations at its primary hub at Memphis International Airport, making it a critical hub for global logistics.
Connections
Exemplified By
Beijing Capital is Air China's principal hub, operated on the hub-and-spoke model.
Changi is Singapore Airlines' home hub, central to the airline's hub-and-spoke route network across Asia.
Charles de Gaulle is Air France's hub and a SkyTeam hub, built on the hub-and-spoke model.
Dubai International is Emirates' primary hub, built around the hub-and-spoke model connecting long-haul routes through a single transfer point.
FedEx's Memphis SuperHub is the standard real-world air-cargo hub-and-spoke instance
Haneda is the primary hub for both ANA and Japan Airlines, operated on the hub-and-spoke model for domestic and international connections.
Hartsfield-Jackson is Delta Air Lines' largest hub, the textbook example of the hub-and-spoke model in US commercial aviation.
Heathrow is British Airways' main hub and a widely cited hub-and-spoke example among European carriers.
LAX functions as a multi-carrier hub (American, Delta, United, Southwest), a standard example of hub-and-spoke concentration at a major US gateway.
Long-Form Articles
Preceded By
Source Wikipedia: Spoke-hub Distribution Paradigm
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Spoke-hub Distribution Paradigm
WikipediaLead section
Delta Air Lines pioneered the spoke-hub distribution model in 1955.
- Preceded By: Airline Deregulation
View the Source Wikipedia: FedEx
WikipediaLead section, fourth sentenceQuote, Lead section, fourth sentence
The company's air shipping operations are centralized at its primary hub at Memphis International Airport, making it a critical hub for global logistics.
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