Those smaller died or have been absorbed

The hubs are stars for two reasons. First their functioning in "hub and spokes" (hub and spokes): companies concentrate, then dispatchent star and waves their flights to provide a maximum of combinations of possible travel and better fulfill of larger aircraft. Then because they are good stars which probably saved from major airlines. Because the hubs, as well as membership in an alliance, or the networks have become the keys to the current business model of the "majors".

There are two types of hubs. Large, intercontinental, are required by the companies leaders (Charles-de-Gaulle 56 of traffic comes of Air France and 62 of Skyteam). They offer the most connections and frequency on a number of record international destinations and about one-third of passengers are in transit (32 to CDG all companies combined, 50 in Skyteam) and regional aircraft to fill large carriers long letters. Cabinet AD Little has identified approximately 40 hubs of this type in the world. The most numerous are the United States. In Europe, they are a handful (Heathrow, CDG, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Madrid). British Airways (BA) at Heathrow is to hand, very focused on the United States, which represent almost half of the traffic of the company (23 American cities served online).

These major hubs are in competition: "once a traveller must use a carriage before flight long post, it can be twisted by a competitor", explains Yves Crozet, Director of the laboratory of Economics, transport, who observes that companies do not subsidising prices for their captive customer proximity but competing territories.

With hubs in pairs

Result, "term, it should remain only two or three major hubs in Europe", says René Brun, Director of the airport Paris-CDG (Aéroports de Paris) by adding that those who, like Paris, have a close and developed trading area have a big advantage. European leadership is slipping toward a system of coordinates pairs of hubs: after Paris-Amsterdam, the most successful, emerged Frankfurt-Munich, pending London-Madrid.

The second category is that of the regional hubs, offer rare intercontinental links but mostly deal with exchanges between average mail. Many in the United States. In France, after the Regional in Clermond-Ferrand reflus, there is more than one, "intra European", the secondary hub of Air France in Lyon, which has only an intercontinental line (in New York) but dream to open in the Middle East and Asia. Because of its small size, it is very efficient for a minimum connection of 25 minutes, the shortest in Europe. Because the heart of a hub, big or small, is to "allow a fluid approximation, without bottlenecks, a number of important flights, during relatively short hours", says Didier Brechemier, consultant to the firm Roland Berger. Their attractiveness meets a mathematical effect: putting 7 times 7 flights face to face, on opportunities 49 matches; by putting 20 times 20, it obtains 400, etc. "To develop the market, must be to reach a critical mass," said David Feldman, airports with Exambela Consulting specialist. "The virtue of the system is that by multiplying the possible matches and frequencies, the offer becomes more attractive, the recipe increases, the size of aircraft, thereby reducing unit costs and to offer more attractive rates and therefore attract more customers", explains Henri of Peyrelongue, Director of the program Air France-KLM

Levers of power

In this context, "the hubs including the transits of passengers and luggage are the most reliable, i.e. those of last generation, with the most future", believe David Feldman. BA to Heathrow thus understood that quality involved heavy investments. Flanged in its development by only 2 tracks (against 4-CDG), opened in 2008, a Terminal 5 (five times the size of the T4) which reduces one-hour time of matches. Ditto for AF - KLM to Roissy, by the complexity of the site, which focuses its hub in new buildings to the East of the airport.

These giant hubs, when they work well, are undoubtedly the levers of power of dominant companies. For Olivier Fainsilber, specialist of the firm Oliver Wyman, "they can be compared in a plant with a production line which is oil, fits, lives and rises." They build on the long term with huge investments. "Combined with the network effect, it is a major instrument of business case."

For Henri de Peyrelongue, "consolidation of the air which is conducted around large companies has shown the validity of the model". René Brun, ADP, observed that "the largest airports record growth rates higher than the others" and that the major hubs are so strategic that Heathrow and Frankfurt came to decide to build a third runway, "which was unthinkable a decade ago." Professor Yves Crozet, "airlines who have major hubs are those who are the best." Those smaller died or have been absorbed.

These Giants have their weaknesses. "A correspondence platform creates a virtuous circle which must speak." "Conversely, it can become a vicious circle if it reduces too many matches, losing its attractiveness and causes a deterioration of its results," said Mathieu Blondel, consultant specialized in Arthur d. Little for which "the pressure of the"low cost"increases on networks short and medium large companies mail." However passengers in point to point, even if they leave no margin to the traditional carriers, to cover the fixed costs of the flight. If they are captured by the "low cost", their absence undermines the balance of the companies.

Yet, at the same time a hub is a damper of crisis for the largest companies. It is the opinion of Henri of Peyrelongue, AF - KLM. According to him, he offers an "ability to recover market share as soon as the competition fades." To allow the least possible decision-making competition, says, "we focus our capacity reductions on roads long mail multi-frequency". When there are 3 flights per day on a destination, the deletion of a single flight allows passengers to see on the other. Whereas if a single flight is removed, a part of the customer turns to competing companies. René Brun observed elsewhere on the platform of CDG, traffic related to the hub is now resisting the better: "the crisis strengthens therefore hub." The stars of the air won't stop to shine.