ABSTRACT
Hub-and-spoke networks have been an essential feature of the operations of air carriers since the deregulation of the domestic US air transport market in 1978. They allow the hub airline to maximize the number of connected city pairs given a certain number of flights. Due to the consolidation of different origin–destination combinations on a limited number of routes, the hub airline may benefit from higher load factors, higher frequencies and the use of larger aircraft with lower unit costs (Dennis, 1994a, 1994b).
