Major airport hubs in usa: The Complete List of Hubs / Focus Airports of Major Airlines in North America

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March 15, 2023
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The Complete List of Hubs / Focus Airports of Major Airlines in North America

Lots of readers who are new to points & miles world are sometimes confused of how to plan their travel because they don’t know which route they should fly. I believe it is really important to know which hub airport or focus airport of airlines you are close by since knowing this information could help you plan your travel if you need to buy air tickets / use your miles to redeem for air tickets. Therefore, I am going to list the hub / focus city of major airlines in North America in this article to give you more information. Hopefully after reading this article, you could have more thoughts about planning the your travel in the future.

(1) American Airlines (AA)

There are 9 hubs in United States:

New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
Washington Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA)
Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
Miami International Airport (MIA)
Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW)
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

People who lived close to these airports could transfer from these hubs. American Airlines have lots of scheduled flights from these major hubs, which is useful for you to have a connecting flights to your destination.

(2) United Airlines (UA)

There are 7 hubs in United States:

Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
Houston George-Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
Denver International Airport (DEN)
San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

People who lived close to these airports could transfer from these hubs. United Airlines have lots of scheduled flights from these major hubs, which is useful for you to have a connecting flights to your destination.

(3) Delta Air Lines (DL)

There are 10 hubs in United States:

Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW)
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP)
Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

People who lived close to these airports could transfer from these hubs. Delta Air Lines have lots of scheduled flights from these major hubs, which is useful for you to have a connecting flights to your destination.

(4) Southwest Airlines (WN)

There are 18 focus airports in United States (Southwest Airlines don’t have “hubs”):

Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI)
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
Orlando International Airport (MCO)
Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
Tampa International Airport (TPA)
Nashville International Airport (BNA)
General Mitchell International Airport (MKE)
Chicago Midway Airport (MDW)
Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL)
Houston Hobby Airport (HOU)
Denver International Airport (DEN)
McCarran International Airport (LAS)
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
Oakland International Airport (OAK)
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
John Wayne Airport (SNA)
San Diego International Airport (SAN)
St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL)

People who lived close to these airports could transfer from these hubs. Southwest Airlines have lots of scheduled flights from these major focus airport, which is useful for you to have a connecting flights to your destination.

(5) JetBlue (B6)

There are 6 focus airports in United States (JetBlue don’t have “hubs”):

Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
Orlando International Airport (MCO)
Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU)
Long Beach Airport (LGB)

People who lived close to these airports could transfer from these hubs. JetBlue have lots of scheduled flights from these major focus airport, which is useful for you to have a connecting flights to your destination.

(6) Alaska Airlines (AS)

There are 5 hubs in United States:

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC)
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
Portland International Airport (PDX)
San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

People who lived close to these airports could transfer from these hubs. Alaska Airlines have lots of scheduled flights from these major focus airport, which is useful for you to have a connecting flights to your destination.

(6) Air Canada (AC)

There are 4 hubs in Canada:

Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
Calgary International Airport (YYC)
Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL)

These airlines’ frequent flyer programs are partners of point-transfer programs in United States (AMEX, Chase, SPG), it is very easy to transfer your points to one of them for award tickets redemption. You don’t need to have additional miles to redeem for air tickets to your destination even you don’t live close to these hubs / focus airports since these airline programs are all region-based instead of distance-based, which means no additional miles is required!

Which U.

S. Cities Are Major Hubs and Why it Matters

The favored model of the American airline industry since its deregulation in 1978, airport hubs have formed the backbone of the country’s present-day aviation network and marketplace. Nowadays these hub-and-spoke systems have become ubiquitous in the U.S. travel sphere, replacing most previous point-to-point models offered by airlines.

By providing greater efficiency and profitability, the hub system seems here to stay, so lets took a look at how this transportation model can benefit both the airline and the passengers they carry.

Why Hubs Matter for Passengers

In a perfect world, every flight would be nonstop, and you’d be jetting off to your destination without any extended connection times or roundabout routings. But in that perfect world, your airfare would likely cost triple.

So why do hubs matter for passengers? The almighty dollar. If airlines can reduce costs by running an efficient hub-and-spoke system, they can, in theory, pass along the savings to the customer. While airport connections aren’t always ideal, hubs allow for carriers to provide more extensive route networks, streamlined operations, and lower fares.

And those low fares come in several forms.

Some of the best-unadvertised savings in the entire aviation marketplace come in the form of hub attacks by competing airlines. These fare wars often instigated by rival carriers trying to undercut prices on select routes from a competitor hub airport, sometimes to the tune of hundreds of dollars.

As an example, Delta might try to drum up sales in a market such as Houston (IAH) that are traditionally dominated by United Airlines by listing fares to destinations in say, Europe or Hawaii, for half the going price. By instigating a fare war, Delta can cut into United’s hub profits and sway customers who are generally handcuffed to United’s monopolized airfares to try their product instead.

These so-called fare wars often escalate quickly with multiple airlines getting in on the action targeting rivals’ hometown hubs across the country. By knowing which hub is nearest to you and which airlines tend to undercut prices when a fare war kicks up might be key in grabbing a rock-bottom fare during one of these short-lived unadvertised sales and save big.

Why Hubs Matter for Airlines

Consolidated route networks play a big part in how airlines can shed overhead on their overall operational costs. Hubs allow airlines to funnel feeder flights with lower passenger volumes through strategically placed airports without having to allot larger aircraft on less popular city-to-city pairings. Thus, adjusting for the total number of travelers on routes and reducing empty seats – the bane of every carrier’s bottom line.

For example, instead of offering a nonstop point-to-point option between two smaller cities like Des Moines (DSM) and Dayton (DAY) that would more than likely fly half empty, these two markets connect through a midway hub like Detroit (DTW) or Chicago (ORD). This allows the airline to better utilize its aircraft and corral passengers between the two points at a profitable schedule while reducing its risk of low passenger loads.

Hubs also provide airlines with a centralized work base for employees, allow for more timely mechanical fixes, and provide additional options for aircraft swaps or adjustments, all of which significantly reduce operating costs compared to a point-to-point system.

A List of Airport Hubs Across America

The following is a list of major U.S.-based carriers and the location of their airport hubs cities.

(Red dots indicate hubs – Yellow for focus cities)

Alaska Airlines

Focused on West Coast markets, Alaska Airlines operates five hubs with its primary hub and headquarters located at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA). Focus cities of San Diego (SAN) and San Jose (SJC) round out the carrier’s prodigious Pacific Coast presence.

Hubs

Seattle/Tacoma (SEA) – Primary Hub
Anchorage (ANC)
Los Angeles (LAX)
Portland (PDX)
San Francisco (SFO)

Focus Cities

San Diego (SAN)
San Jose (SJC)

American Airlines

As the world’s largest airline, American routes its nearly 200,000,000+ annual passengers through its ten major U. S. hubs. Following its merger with US Airways in 2013, American added Phoenix (PHX), Philadelphia (PHL), Washington DC (DCA), and Charlotte (CLT) to its roster of hub airports. While unofficial, Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) is considered the airline’s primary hub and home to the company’s global headquarters.

Hubs

Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) – Primary Hub
Charlotte (CLT)
Chicago–O’Hare (ORD)
Los Angeles (LAX)
Miami (MIA)
New York–Kennedy (JFK)
New York–LaGuardia (LGA)
Philadelphia (PHL)
Phoenix (PHX)
Washington DC–National (DCA)

Related: American Airlines 777-300ER Business Class Review

Delta Air Lines

Considered to be the first mega-hub in America, Atlanta’s Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport (ATL) is also the world’s busiest and the primary hub for hometown Delta Air Lines. After finalizing its merger with Northwest Airlines in 2010, Delta inherited hubs at Minneapolis (MSP) and Detroit (DTW) and upgraded its presence in Boston (SEA) in 2019 bringing its total hub count to nine.

Hubs

Atlanta (ATL) – Primary Hub
Boston (BOS)
Detroit (DTW)
Los Angeles (LAX)
Minneapolis/Saint Paul (MSP)
New York–Kennedy (JFK)
New York–LaGuardia (LGA)
Salt Lake City (SLC)
Seattle/Tacoma (SEA)

Focus Cities

Raleigh/Durham (RDU)

United Airlines

Chicago-based United Airlines operates a total of seven hubs in the States, including its prime base at hometown O’Hare (ORD) airport. Its merger with Continental Airlines in 2010 has resulted in the addition of Newark (EWR) and Houston-Intercontinental (IAH) to its roster of hub airports. Cleveland Hopkins International (CLE) a former Continental hub has been disbanded by United in favor of increased service at other regional airports.

Hubs

Chicago–O’Hare (ORD) – Primary Hub
Denver (DEN)
Houston–Intercontinental (IAH)
Los Angeles (LAX)
Newark (EWR)
San Francisco (SFO)
Washington DC–Dulles (IAD)

Hawaiian Airlines

Honolulu-based Hawaiian Airlines operates two hubs in the 50^th state – its headquarters at Daniel K. Inouye/Honolulu International Airport (HNL) and its secondary outpost on the island of Maui at Kahului Airport (OGG). Kona International Airport (KOA) and Lihue Airport (LIH) serve as focus cities for the airline.

Hubs

Honolulu–Oahu (HNL) – Primary Hub
Kahului–Maui (OGG)

Focus Cities

Kona–Big Island (KOA)
Lihue–Kauai (LIH)

Frontier

Frontier Airlines forgoes maintaining multiple hubs across its network and relies on a patchwork of focus cities to connect its low-cost customers to their destinations. The budget carrier supports a solitary hub at Denver International Airport (DEN) of which most of its West Coast connections route through. On East Coast operations, Frontier tends to lean toward a point-to-point model but often routes passengers through one of its nine focus airports.

Hubs

Denver (DEN) – Operating Base

Focus Cities

Atlanta (ATL)
Chicago–O’Hare (ORD)
Cleveland (CLE)
Las Vegas (LAS)
Miami (MIA)
Orlando (MCO)
Tampa (TPA)
Philadelphia (PHL)
Trenton (TTN)

Related: Is Frontier’s New High Cost Airport Fee a Scam?

Sun Country Airlines

Ultra low-cost carrier Sun Country’s route network is primarily connected through its sole hub at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP). Over the last several years the airline has rapidly expanded its route network outside the confines of its Minnesota hub by adding focus airports at Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and Las Vegas (LAS).

Hubs

Minneapolis/Saint Paul (MSP) – Primary Hub

Focus Cities

Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
Las Vegas (LAS)

Airlines With Operating Bases and Focus Cities Instead of Hubs

Not all airlines rely on the hub-and-spoke system; many provide point-to-point networks to route passengers on strategically chosen flight paths to compete with legacy carriers.

JetBlue

New York-based JetBlue prefers to maintain a single operating base at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) instead of proclaiming a primary hub. The airline’s low-cost model is heavily reliant on nonstop point-to-point offerings rather than funneling its passenger through the more common hub system. With focus airports in five other cities like Boston (BOS), Orlando (MCO), Ft. Lauderdale (FLL), Long Beach (LGB), and San Juan (SJU), JetBlue’s network leans heavy on East Coast air traffic.

New York-Kennedy (JFK) – Operating Base
Boston (BOS)
Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
Long Beach (LGB)
Orlando (MCO)
San Juan (SJU)

Southwest Airlines

The anti-establishment answer to the hub-and-spoke system, Southwest has made its mark as the top airline to favor a point-to-point delivery for its passengers. As the largest domestic carrier in the United States, Southwest prefers to assign its important airports as operating bases. The airline currently lists 11 airports as operating bases. Southwest’s recent expansion to Hawaii has given the carrier a strong presence at Honolulu International Airport (HNL), but the airline has yet to designate it a focus city or operating base.

(Only airports designated as operating bases shown)

Atlanta (ATL)
Baltimore (BWI)
Chicago–Midway (MDW)
Dallas–Love Field (DAL)
Denver (DEN)
Houston–Hobby (HOU)
Las Vegas (LAS)
Los Angles (LAX)
Oakland (OAK)
Orlando (MCO)
Phoenix (PHX)

Spirit Airlines

Ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines skips doling out the term hub to its busiest airports in favor of labeling them operating bases. The no-frills airline connects some itineraries through one of its seven nationwide stations but for the most part, relies on single leg city-to-city service to deliver passengers to their destinations.

Atlantic City (ACY)
Chicago–O’Hare (ORD)
Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
Detroit (DTW)
Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
Las Vegas (LAS)
Orlando (MCO)

Featured image by Nazarkru / shutterstock.com

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Transportation system in the USA

As a large and developed country, the USA has all modes of transport and their balanced system. The absolute and relative dimensions of transport infrastructure and rolling stock are very large. In the transportation of goods, railways (38%), motor vehicles (28%), inland waterway (16%) and pipelines (18%) precede, in the transportation of passengers – by road (82%) and aviation (17%). The share of railways, inland waterway and maritime transport in passenger traffic, with the exception of tourist cruises, has been reduced to a minimum. At the same time, the role of aviation in the transportation of goods is growing. A significant part of the US Navy sails under “cheap flags”. nine0003

The framework of railway and motor roads is made up of a small number of latitudinal and meridional directions, which are called “transport corridors”. They link important areas and subways. The most intense are the northwestern “corridor” (Washington-Boston) and “corridors”. Four transcontinental “corridors” originate in the cities of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Omaha, Kansas City and New Orleans. Among the meridional “corridors” are the directions of New York-Florida, Chicago-Miami (New Orleans and San Antonio) and Los Angeles-Seattle. Railroads, highways and pipelines link the US with Canada and Mexico. nine0003

Among inland waterways, the Mississippi-Ohio system, the Great Lakes and canals are the most important. Coastal channels connect river mouths and lagoons and enable river vessels to pass along the coast without going to the open sea. One of the channels connects Lake Michigan with the Illinois River, a tributary of the Mississippi, and creates an outlet to the Gulf of Mexico from the Great Lakes. The Erie Canal (Lake Erie is a tributary of the Hudson, the Mohawk River) is the route from the New York area to the Great Lakes. It was built in 1825 and played an important role in the colonization of the interior, as well as in the history and development of New York. Its current value is minimal. There are two recently built canals that are very busy in terms of their cargo turnover. nine0003

In the 19th century shipping along the Mississippi-Ohio was important. In the first half of the XX century. championship passed to the Large Lakes. However, river transport, which fell into disrepair in the 1920s, has been restored on a new technical basis, and now almost 3/5 of the cargo turnover of inland waterways falls on the Mississippi basin.

Due to the growth of urban formations, the unification of once separate independent ports into huge port complexes has become characteristic. This was especially pronounced in seaports. The largest among them are the port complexes of New York-New Jersey at the mouth of the Hudson River, Philadelphia-Baltimore at the mouth of the Delaware River and the Chesapeake Bay, New Orleans-Baton Rouge at the mouth of the Mississippi, Houston and its surroundings. nine0003

Two waterways outside of the United States are important to the United States. Deep water path along the river. St. Lawrence provides access from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean through Canada. In 1970, the Great Lakes officially received the status of the fourth sea coast of the United States. The Panama Canal on the territory of Panama allows the shortest way to carry out sea transportation from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast of the United States.

A special role in the US belongs to road transport. The saturation of the country with cars is the highest in the world and continues to grow. There are 146 million cars, trucks and buses – 48 million. In the US, own “family car” became a reality, a tradition and an element of prestige already in the 20s, that is, half a century earlier than in Western Europe and Japan. Many families have two or more cars. There is a large market for used cars, which has made it easier to trade in old for a new model every year. The automobile has had and continues to have a huge impact on American life. The modern spatial structure of subways is generated by him. It is only thanks to him that high mobility of the population is possible. The territory of the United States is covered with a dense network of paved roads. nine0003

The wide development of air passenger transport in the USA is associated both with the high level of development of the country and with the size of its territory and its geographical position. In terms of the number of public airports, including large ones, in terms of the fleet of mainline aircraft, the length of domestic and international airlines, and the transportation of passengers, the United States is unrivaled. Airports in the Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta and Los Angeles metropolitan areas rank in the top four places in the world in terms of the number of passengers arriving and departing. Widely developed local, so-called computer airlines, which connect small towns. More and more private (family) aircraft and airfields. The volume of cargo transportation is also growing, primarily urgent, valuable, perishable. nine0003

Air service operates between New York and Kyiv .

The largest complex transportation hubs in the United States are large subways, the geographical location of which is central to the most important territories, or even the country as a whole. These are New York, Philadelphia, Washington-Baltimore and Boston in the Northeast, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle on the Pacific Coast, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta inland.

10 cities in the world with the best transport system

March 31, 2020
07:19

Paulo Amorim/Vwpics/Global Look Press/Keystone Press Agency

Experts from the consulting firm Oliver Wyman have published a ranking of cities with the best transport systems. The urban mobility index was used to assess the quality of transport systems. The experts assessed factors such as infrastructure, regulation, livability and user experience. nine0003

Experts from the consulting firm Oliver Wyman have published a ranking of cities with the best transport systems.

The urban mobility index was used to assess the quality of transport systems. The experts assessed factors such as infrastructure, regulation, livability and user experience.

The authors of the study also note that the latest technologies can be an important factor in the development of urban transport systems in the future.

Here are 10 cities in the world with the best transport systems. nine0003

10. Berlin

Points: 58.4

Berlin is a major transport hub, as well as the financial, economic, political and cultural center of Germany. Berlin has 5,334 km of roads, of which 66 km are highways, and 2,100 bridges.

9. Seoul

Points: 59

Seoul is the capital of South Korea, as well as a major economic, industrial and transport hub of the country. The Seoul metro is one of the leading places in Asia in terms of passenger traffic. Also, the city has a well-developed network of ground urban transport. nine0003

8. Beijing

Points: 59.6

Beijing is the capital of China, its political and cultural center. It is the largest railway and road junction and one of the country’s main air hubs.

7. Helsinki

Points: 61.1

Helsinki is the capital of Finland. This city has repeatedly been included in the list of the most comfortable cities for living in the world. The main international air hub in Finland is Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, located 20 km from the center of the capital and providing direct flights around the world. nine0003

6. Tokyo

Points: 61.5

Tokyo is the political, economic, cultural and financial center of Japan. Rail transport is the main form of public transport in Tokyo. It carries tens of millions of passengers daily.

5. New York

Points: 61.9

New York is a major cultural, financial and economic center not only in the United States, but throughout the world. An important means of moving around the city is the subway, and a network of surface transport is also developed. nine0003

4. Shanghai

Points: 62.4

Shanghai is an important cultural and financial center of China. Among other things, it is the largest seaport in the country and in the world.

3. London

Points: 62.7

London is the capital of Great Britain. One of the main means of transportation here is the subway. A network of city buses has been developed. Among other things, London is an important air hub connecting the country with other countries and continents of the world.

2. Amsterdam

Points: 65.5

Amsterdam is the political, cultural and economic capital of the Netherlands. Amsterdam is famous for the widespread use of bicycles, which has a positive impact on the ecological state of the city. All the necessary conditions have been created for bicycles, a network of cycle paths has been developed.

1. Singapore

Points: 70.8

Singapore is a large city with a developed transport infrastructure. He was ranked number one by consulting firm Oliver Wyman. In addition, the Singapore seaport is considered one of the largest not only in Asia, but also in the world.