Identifying hubs in airline networks: overcoming some data problems

Abstract

The proper identification of airline hubs requires both accurate definitions and appropriate data. Standard information sources do not feature the actual routes flown by passengers, and therefore a new and previously untapped database is introduced. The employed data are transnational and feature origin/destination statistics with additional information on intermediate stops (if any), which allows a thorough assessment of hub structures in the global airline network. A threefold analysis is presented, i.e.(i) an overview of the major hubs in absolute terms, (ii) a similar overview of hubs in relative terms, (iii) a more refined analysis of the spatiality of some important hubs.