Article ID: | iaor2003281 |
Country: | United Kingdom |
Volume: | 37E |
Issue: | 4 |
Start Page Number: | 267 |
End Page Number: | 280 |
Publication Date: | Aug 2001 |
Journal: | Transportation Research. Part E, Logistics and Transportation Review |
Authors: | Wojahn Oliver W. |
Keywords: | hub-and-spoke |
In this paper, we determine characteristics of the cost-minimizing airline network under economies of density. Airline demand is asymmetric and governed by the gravity model. Airline networks are restricted to those where each spoke city is assigned to a single hub and where hub cities are fully interconnected. The cost-minimizing network is a mixture of a point-to-point and a single hub network. Multi-hub networks where passengers change planes at more than one airport are found to be suboptimal.