Frustrated by the sprawling connection itineraries that have long defined domestic and transatlantic travel, a growing segment of air travelers is turning to secondary airports and embracing the expanding network of point-to-point routes connecting them. New data released Thursday by an aviation analytics firm shows that non-hub routes have grown by 22% over the past two years, outpacing hub growth by a factor of three — a structural shift that several major carriers are now actively accelerating rather than resisting.
The economics have changed in travelers' favor. Secondary airports typically charge lower landing fees, which allows airlines to price point-to-point routes competitively while maintaining better margins. Ground operations at smaller facilities are faster: average taxi times, gate turnaround, and baggage delivery all run shorter than at major hubs, contributing to significantly better on-time performance. Industry data suggests that routes operating out of secondary airports run on-time at rates roughly 12 percentage points higher than comparable hub routes.
For travelers, the calculus is increasingly simple. A passenger flying from a mid-sized city to a European destination through a hub might spend six hours in transit for a flight that takes seven. The same journey on a new direct service — even if it operates only four days per week — eliminates the layover entirely. Airline executives say demand for these routes, once considered marginal, is consistently outperforming projections.
"The hub-and-spoke model was built for a world where frequencies mattered more than convenience. Travelers are telling us very clearly that they have changed their priorities."
— Chief network planning officer, major North American carrier
The trend is reshaping smaller communities as well. Cities with secondary airports that had previously accessed the national network only through regional connector flights are now receiving direct service to multiple hubs and, in some cases, international destinations. Tourism boards in several mid-sized American cities have credited new direct service with measurable increases in hotel occupancy and convention bookings — a data point that has not escaped the attention of airport authorities willing to offer airlines favorable incentive packages.
Not everyone celebrates the shift. Hub airports facing declining connecting traffic have lobbied regulators to scrutinize whether subsidized competition at secondary facilities constitutes unfair market distortion. Labor groups at hub airports have raised concerns about capacity reductions affecting ground crew employment. Airlines operating the new routes counter that the market is simply correcting itself after decades in which the hub model was treated as immutable — and that more travelers reaching their destination on time is a social good that benefits the entire industry.