Armchair CEO - Where would you build a hub?
#31
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Terra Australis Cognita
Posts: 5,350
Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur? Tokyo to Bali? Seoul to Perth?
Can you get from Dubai to Sydney non-stop?
With a hub in Singapore you can block an area from Seoul to Sydney to Dubai and get anywhere non-stop. And that's the area I'd want to service with my hub.
On grounds of geography alone, northern Myanmar might make a pretty good place for a hub, although politics and economics make that a non-starter for the foreseeable future. For time being, Bangkok will have to do, and despite the worst efforts of its government and its inept flag carrier TG, it's doing decently.
#32
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#34
Moderator: Manufactured Spending
Join Date: Jul 2011
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Why are so many people thinking in terms of long-haul international flights? Just about every airline starts off flying short-haul routes, domestically or to neighboring countries. Therefore, the best place to put a hub is a large city that is not already a fortress hub for another airline.
The last two new airlines in the US followed this rule. B6 chose JFK and BOS, and VX chose SFO and LAX.
The last two new airlines in the US followed this rule. B6 chose JFK and BOS, and VX chose SFO and LAX.
#37
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Central Mass
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So here are some more far fetched ideas.
Anchorage. Not a big city for O/D traffic, but looking globally, it makes a great midway location for traffic bound to Asia. Especially if you could figure out a way to make transit for international travelers easier.
Azores. This might make a good hub for a discount airline serving the US/South America to Europe and North Africa route. I am not sure how big an airliner they can land there, but I imagine they can at least take a A330.
Bermuda. Again for a leisure traffic oriented airline. Not only do you have strong layover opportunities, it would be a good consolidation point for the Europe to Florida routes.
St. Pierre. Right now a tiny little airport, but... not only is it right on the major routes to Europe, it also happens to be a part of the EU. If an airline were to invest in a new airport, and especially a nice new terminal. You could clear customs/immigration there and be on your way. And, since you will be the major player in the economy, you would be sure to get strong support.
Anchorage. Not a big city for O/D traffic, but looking globally, it makes a great midway location for traffic bound to Asia. Especially if you could figure out a way to make transit for international travelers easier.
Azores. This might make a good hub for a discount airline serving the US/South America to Europe and North Africa route. I am not sure how big an airliner they can land there, but I imagine they can at least take a A330.
Bermuda. Again for a leisure traffic oriented airline. Not only do you have strong layover opportunities, it would be a good consolidation point for the Europe to Florida routes.
St. Pierre. Right now a tiny little airport, but... not only is it right on the major routes to Europe, it also happens to be a part of the EU. If an airline were to invest in a new airport, and especially a nice new terminal. You could clear customs/immigration there and be on your way. And, since you will be the major player in the economy, you would be sure to get strong support.
#38
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So here are some more far fetched ideas.
Anchorage. Not a big city for O/D traffic, but looking globally, it makes a great midway location for traffic bound to Asia. Especially if you could figure out a way to make transit for international travelers easier.
Azores. This might make a good hub for a discount airline serving the US/South America to Europe and North Africa route. I am not sure how big an airliner they can land there, but I imagine they can at least take a A330.
Bermuda. Again for a leisure traffic oriented airline. Not only do you have strong layover opportunities, it would be a good consolidation point for the Europe to Florida routes.
St. Pierre. Right now a tiny little airport, but... not only is it right on the major routes to Europe, it also happens to be a part of the EU. If an airline were to invest in a new airport, and especially a nice new terminal. You could clear customs/immigration there and be on your way. And, since you will be the major player in the economy, you would be sure to get strong support.
Anchorage. Not a big city for O/D traffic, but looking globally, it makes a great midway location for traffic bound to Asia. Especially if you could figure out a way to make transit for international travelers easier.
Azores. This might make a good hub for a discount airline serving the US/South America to Europe and North Africa route. I am not sure how big an airliner they can land there, but I imagine they can at least take a A330.
Bermuda. Again for a leisure traffic oriented airline. Not only do you have strong layover opportunities, it would be a good consolidation point for the Europe to Florida routes.
St. Pierre. Right now a tiny little airport, but... not only is it right on the major routes to Europe, it also happens to be a part of the EU. If an airline were to invest in a new airport, and especially a nice new terminal. You could clear customs/immigration there and be on your way. And, since you will be the major player in the economy, you would be sure to get strong support.
If you are talking about a new domestic US hub there are plenty of ex-hubs abandoned by the legacies awaiting exploitation: CVG, MEM, PIT, STL, CMH. If you are talking about a global hub you have to go to where volume traffic growth will materialize, which means southeast Asia. CGK, KUL, MNL.
It does not make sense to plop a hub in a geographically inconvenient place nobody goes. It makes less sense still to build one for the convenience of a few premium business flyers.
#39
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 3,790
I don't know in the real world if this would happen, but if an airline wants lots of room for growth and for lots of connecting passengers, airports such as CLE, STL, MEM, CVG, PIT, MCI, and others that i'm forgetting are move-in ready with plenty of abandoned concourses/free gates.
#40
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 5,439
St. Pierre. Right now a tiny little airport, but... not only is it right on the major routes to Europe, it also happens to be a part of the EU. If an airline were to invest in a new airport, and especially a nice new terminal. You could clear customs/immigration there and be on your way. And, since you will be the major player in the economy, you would be sure to get strong support.
#42
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DEN seems pretty reasonable but it's a huge Southwest, Frontier and United hub that would be difficult to break into.
Another option would be to start with the lucrative transcons (LAX-JFK, etc.) and work up from there. You would need to have a hard and soft product that beats whatever's available now to have a good shot though.
Another option would be to start with the lucrative transcons (LAX-JFK, etc.) and work up from there. You would need to have a hard and soft product that beats whatever's available now to have a good shot though.
#43
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Why are so many people thinking in terms of long-haul international flights? Just about every airline starts off flying short-haul routes, domestically or to neighboring countries. Therefore, the best place to put a hub is a large city that is not already a fortress hub for another airline.
The last two new airlines in the US followed this rule. B6 chose JFK and BOS, and VX chose SFO and LAX.
The last two new airlines in the US followed this rule. B6 chose JFK and BOS, and VX chose SFO and LAX.
#44
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#45
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: IND
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Posts: 315
Look up OneJet its a new airline for point to point business travel. First 3 bases are IND, MKE, and PIT. With service timed for early morning departures and late afternoon returns. Its a very interesting airline and hope it works because so many medium and small cities have lost nonstop service and now only have flights to major hubs.