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Re: Tuesday, November 19, 2002
Door-to-door, a flight of 500 miles or less (the majority of American flights) is no faster than driving a car. Why? Because, Mr Fallows argues, of the hub-and-spoke system, developed by the airlines since deregulation to cut their costs and fill their seats. More than 80% of America’s airline travel now takes off from or lands at the busiest 1% of airports.
Hubs make the whole system more cumbersome and vulnerable to delays. When a problem hits a big hub, it ripples out through the network. The answer, says Mr Fallows, is one that NASA, America’s space agency, has been looking at: many more flights by small aircraft into the myriad airports scattered across the country.
Hamish.
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