AIRLINE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT: ROUTE STRUCTURE
I. Route Structure:
a. An airline’s most critical strategic choices are the
destinations served and the route structure
connecting these cities.
b. An airline can choose among three generic route
system architectures that vary in complexity and
cost of operation: point-to-point, linear, and hub-
and-spoke (H&S).
c. Route structure choice is the foundation of an
airline’s product
II. POINT-TO-POINT
a. A point-to-point system connects destinations with
non-stop service.
b. All passengers board at the flight origin and
deplane at the destination.
c. It is the simplest means to connect the cities an
airline chooses to serve.
d. Each origin and destination city, or city-pair, is
served by non-stop flights.
e. In a pure point-to-point system, passengers do not
connect to any other flight.
III. Advantages of Point-to-Point System: Fast, Cheap,
and Independent
a. Non-stop flights in a point-to-point system provide
the shortest total travel time from origin to
destination allowing the shortest flight distance
and the most efficient and cost-effective flight
profile.
b. Passengers value non-stop service
c. Connecting flights are not offered flights that
operate independently relieving the airline of the
burden of synchronizing the entire flight schedule.
d. High utilization of aircraft, gates, and personnel is
attainable.
e. The schedule is easily adjusted for seasonality
without impacting other traffic.
IV. Disadvantages of Point-to-Point System: Limited to
Large Market
a. The inability to consolidate traffic bound for many
destinations severely limits the number of city-
pairs in which non-stop flights can be profitability
operated.
b. Low-density markets might be served by smaller
aircraft.
c. Most small and mid-sized cities have sufficient
demand to support non-stop flights to only a few
destinations.
d. The fares required to cover the operating costs of
the regional jet are too high to stimulate traffic for
expanded point-to-point service.
e. The role of the regional jet has been almost
exclusively as a feeder to large network carriers.
f. Without connecting traffic that might offset some
seasonal variation, the point-to-point carrier has no
ability to balance route-specific demand, but it
may adjust flight frequency, and aircraft size, or
operate a route only during some seasons in
attempting to match capacity and demand.
V. Summary:
a. Point-to-point systems are well suited to high-
density vacation and leisure markets, because of
low production costs, and for business markets,
we’re offering the shortest trip time is important.
VI. LINEAR:
a. The linear route system is a simple extension of
the point-to-point structure.
b. Rather than terminating at the first stop, the flight
continues to one or several additional cities.
c. Airline passengers traveling on a linear system
board at the origin or other cities along the route
and deplane at their respective destinations.
VII. Advantages of the Linear Route Structure:
a. Like the point-to-point, each route operates
independently of others.
b. Scheduling and operational control are simplified.
c. Disruptions on one route do not affect another.
d. A range of frequencies and high asset utilization
are feasible.
e. Passengers traveling between several city-pairs are
consolidated on a single aircraft, the combined
demand allows for economical service to smaller
cities. Therefore, a larger aircraft with lower costs
per seat mile can be utilized.
VIII. Disadvantages of the Linear Route Structure:
a. Multiple stops are required to accommodate
passenger itineraries, which conflict with the
customer’s desire for quick and convenient flights.
 b. Distance between stops is often short, which
increases the unit costs (cost per available seat
mile) because the aircraft doesn’t reach an
economical cruising altitude and each stop adds
airport costs.
c. The frequency of service varies by city, and a
concentration of flights is evident at some focus
cities.
IX. HUB-AND-SPOKE
a. The H&S route system became the post-
deregulation standard in the United States and is
employed by most of the largest airlines
worldwide.
b. Route structure is the foundation of the airline’s
product.
c. The H&S is optimized when providing air service
XII.
to a wide geographical area and many destinations.
d. Passengers departing from any spoke city who are
bound for another spoke city in the network are
first flown to the hub airport, where they transfer
to a second flight to their destination.
X. Operations of the HUB-AND-SPOKE:
a. At the beginning of the day’s flight operations,
aircraft are positioned at each spoke city on the
wheel.
b. Aircraft depart these spoke cities so as to arrive at
the hub in a short time window.
c. Inbound flights to hubs are termed a bank or
wave.
d. With all of the inbound flights parked at gates at
the hub airport, passengers whose destination is
not the hub city change to the aircraft that will
depart shortly for their spoke city destination.
e. Simultaneously, baggage and cargo are transferred
to the appropriate outbound aircraft.
f. At the conclusion of the day’s operations, aircraft
will again be positioned at the spoke cities ready to
begin the next day’s operations.
g. Some aircraft terminate at the hub and originate
the next day flying from the hub.
XI. Flight Sequence at the HUB-AND-SPOKE
a. Flights from international cities arrive first,
allowing time for passengers to clear federal
immigration and customs before transferring to
domestic flights.
i. Sometimes international terminals are separate
from domestic terminals, so passengers might need
additional connection times.
ii. Many international destinations are served by
wide-body aircraft, which require more time for
ground servicing.
b. Next to arrive are flights on regional aircraft, first
turboprops and then regional jets.
i. Terminals and gates for regional flights at many
airports are less conveniently located so additional
transfer time is needed.
c. Last to arrive is the domestic mainline jets.
i. These aircraft might have through-flight
passengers on board, so short turnaround times are
desired.
Advantages of Hub-And-Spoke:
a. Minimizes Required Flight Segments
i. The H&S system serves network destinations with
the lowest number of flights.
ii. H&S requires the lowest number of aircraft.
b. City-pair expansion
i. The number of city-pairs served by an H&S
system is given by the formula [N(N-1)]/2, where
N is the total number of destinations.
ii. Network expansion encourages travel, increases
connectivity, and improves asset utilization.
c. Passenger Convenience
i. As destinations grow and more passengers funnel
through the hub, flight frequency can be increased.
ii. Passengers prefer to use a single airline for their
entire journey.
iii. Passengers making a single hub connection benefit
from closely timed flights, single check-in, more
convenient gate and facility locations and reduced
risk of lost baggage.
iv. Familiarity with the airline’s product lessens
uncertainties and increases loyalty, particularly
when linked to loyalty programs.
d. Attractive Frequent Flier Programs
i. Frequent flier programs (FFPs) that encourage
passenger loyalty are more effective when the
airline serves many destinations, particularly a
variety of desirable vacation areas.
 ii. Business passengers value their mileage awards, ii. To earn a profit, these carriers attempt to
which allow free travel—awards that would likely maximize revenues by offering a full array of
be viewed as kickbacks. services
e. Hub Dominance iii. Business travelers pay a fare premium. Without
this fare advantage, the large H&S carrier cannot
i. As an airline’s hub system grows, the airline
compete with lower-cost rivals.
comes to dominate its hub city/cities.
XIII. Disadvantages of Hub-And-Spoke
a. Infrastructure and Labor
i. Extensive facilities and substantial personnel are
needed solely to accommodate connecting
passengers.
b. High Flight Operations Expense
i. H&S systems are expensive to operate compared
with point-to-point and linear systems.
ii. Intermediate stop at the hub imposes a flight
operations expense. Short segments are more
expensive to operate.
iii. A single flight from one destination to another is
called a sector. When the same flight returns, this
is referred to as a segment.
iv. The aircraft achieves lower block speeds because
of additional taxi time and maneuvering for
takeoff and landing.
v. More time spent at lower altitudes increases fuel
burn.
vi. Flight crew is based on block time, as are some
maintenance costs.
c. Mixed Fleet Requirement
i. As fleet commonality decreases, costs increase to
train pilots and mechanics, inventory varied parts,
and acquire and maintain fleet-specific support
equipment.
ii. Aircraft and crew scheduling are more difficult
and constrained as fleet complexity grows.
d. Susceptibility to Delays
i. A delay on one or a few inbound flights can spread
as outbound flights are held for connecting
passengers.
e. Summary:
i. The cost to handle a connecting passenger in an
H&S-dominated system is 30% to 45% higher
than with a point-to-point system, a disparity that
costs H&S airlines billions of dollars annually
(Lott & Taylor, 2004)/