Flights to nowhere

Press, 22 July 1989, Page 20

Flights to nowhere

From the “Economist,” London

ALREADY some airline passengers spend longer waiiting to take off than they do in flight. With world air travel expected to double by 2005, the delays will grow worse. But wltiat is to be done?

Passengers wank convenient airports, but householders object when new ones are planned next door or existing ernes are made bigger. The best solution may be to route some transit passengers through the middhe of nowhere.

Airlines in America and some elsewhere operate what are called hub-and-spoke systems. At the hub, flights are timed to arrive and depart along the spokes so that pasengers can switch from one flight to another.

This can be iirritating for passengers, but it is more efficient for carriers then a web of direct

flights. The hub system also allows airlines to offer a bigger variety of destinations and to fill more seats — which should result in cheaper fares. At some of the huge hub airports in America about half the passengers milling around are simply transferring from one flight to another. At the busiest hubs, like Dallas-Fort Worth, this proportion can reach two-thirds. So why not route connecting passengers through hub airports in out-of-the-way places, where there is plenty of uncongested airspace and no neighbours to annoy?

The Government-backed Transport Research Board is investigating the idea of such “wayports.” Most passengers using a wayport would fly in from other parts of America, or overseas, to connect with flights to other destinations.

Wayports would be cheap to build. At about SUSI billion each they would be well under half the cost of a new metropolitan airport. Savings would come from cheaper land and fewer facilities. No need for lots of check-in desks or vast car parks. Wayports could also develop at underused airports, which could be linked to cities with highspeed railways. Outside America, underused airports such as Shannon in Ireland — once a transatlantic fueling stop — have been suggested as future European wayports. Many airlines are cool about the idea. One reason is that some carriers so dominate hub airports that competitors are unable to find room for new take-off and landing slots. All the more reason to hub out-of-town.

Copyright — The Economist