Randy's Journal: Archives

03 May 2005

Your point of view

The other day we were talking about the "rapid rewards" of non-stop flights. It was a fun play on words. But the fact is, non-stop flights are designed to get passengers from point A to point B without getting slowed down or exposed to the hassles or risks of missed connections or luggage.

Sometimes there's a mistaken belief that Boeing is suggesting hub and spoke operations are going away. We don't think they're going away as a structure. In fact, that system still helps airlines give passengers more frequencies. And it helps maintain service to cities that couldn't be sustained without a connection. This does, though, cost airlines more than non-stop service.

But really, point to point is all about the passenger's perspective. It's not necessarily about how the airline operates its network.

Here's what I mean. Let's say your home airport is a hub operation. For example, Chicago is a huge hub, but for you in Chicago flying non-stop to Manchester, UK, Chicago is your "point."

For you, that's point to point flying, even though it's out of a hub airport! The important thing for you is, you don't have to make a connection in London, "hub-to-hub," to get where you really want to go.

What's happening, even at "hub" airports, is that more spokes are being added, which gives people more point to point flying opportunities. And by eliminating connecting flights, some of these "hub to hubs" are being changed to "hub to point." Which again, opens up more non-stop service.

So, regardless of what kind of airport you depart from or arrive at, if you did not have to make a connection, for you, this is point to point travel.