Point-to-point transit


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Point-to-point transit refers to a transportation system where a plane, bus or train travels directly to a destination, rather than going through a central hub. This differs from the spoke-hub distribution paradigm in which the transportation goes to a central location where passengers change to another train, bus or plane to reach their destination.

In the airline industry, Southwest Airlines in the United States is a primary example of an airline that uses the point-to-point transit model. Currently, Southwest Airlines actually uses a hybrid system, flying point-to-point routes, but also connecting passengers through several smaller hubs at Phoenix Sky Harbor, Las Vegas McCarran, Dallas Love, Houston Hobby, Chicago Midway, Baltimore/Washington, and a few others. It is doubtful if there is any true point-to-point airline, as most have at least a "homebase" airport where most flights originate or depart, which becomes a de facto hub, whether that is the intention or not. The United States airline industry was point to point until deregulation in the late 1960s/early 1970s when they switched to the hub concept.

Advantages

The advantage of a point-to-point system is that it may minimize connections and travel time, but only if the airline serves the destination via the origination point.

Disadvantages

If a city pair is not served, passengers are out of luck, as there is no way to get to a destination using that airline's route network. Secondly, the frequency of flights may be reduced because a point-to-point system requires a large number of combinatorics, as the number of city pairs is increased by many magnitudes.

Point-to-point routes by major hub carriers

Some heavily hub-oriented carriers operate a limited number of point-to-point routes that do not connect with either a hub or focus city. This is notable because they are exceptions to the route structure and network.

  • American Airlines operates San Francisco/Honolulu, Austin/San Jose, Austin/Orange County, Austin/Seattle
  • Continental Airlines operates Los Angeles/Honolulu, Seattle-Tacoma/Anchorage, New York-LaGuardia/Aruba, Los Angeles/Kahului [from March 7], Orange County/Honolulu [from March 7]
  • Delta Air Lines operates Los Angeles/Honolulu, Orlando/Cancun, Orlando/Hartford, Orlando/Boston, Seattle/Kahului, Los Angeles/Sao Paulo, Honolulu/Osaka, Honolulu/Seattle, Nagoya/Saipan, West Palm Beach/Hartford, New York-LaGuardia/Nassau, New York-LaGuardia/Fort Myers, New York-LaGuardia/Bermuda, New York-LaGuardia/New Orleans, New York-LaGuardia/Tampa, Fort Lauderdale/Los Angeles, Los Angeles/Sydney
  • United Airlines operates Hong Kong/Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong/Singapore, San Diego/Honolulu, and from Tokyo-Narita to many Asian cities.






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