Long-haul specialization patterns in European multihub airline networks - An exploratory analysis

Multihub airline networks are an important phenomenon in today's air transport market. An important question is to what extent different factors play a role in the specialization between hubs that are part of the same multihub network. This paper shows that total European market size to a certain long-haul destination and the ratio between the origin-destination market at the primary and the secondary hub are important variables for the role hubs play in the long-haul network of European multihub systems. Large long-haul markets are generally served from both the primary and secondary hub. Multihub carriers serve smaller long-haul markets uniquely from a single hub, depending on the relative advantage in the local origin-destination market. Looking at actual specialization patterns within European multihub networks, we distinguish between complementary multihub systems (such as Amsterdam-Paris CDG), overflow systems (such as Frankfurt-Munich) and regional systems (such as Paris CDG-Lyon).