Fare Determination in Airline Hub-and-Spoke Networks
检验了枢纽辐射网络中，任何增加支线交通量的因素都会降低市场票价的假设，并发现网络特征对四段航线市场的票价有重要影响。
This paper tests the hypothesis that any force that increases traffic volume on the spokes of an airline hub-and-spoke network will reduce fares in the markets it serves. This effect arises because of economies of density on the spokes. It is predicted that fares in the individual markets served by a large network should be low since a large network is expected to have low costs per passenger as a result of high traffic densities. Similarly, holding size fixed, a network that connects large cities should have higher traffic densities on its spokes and thus lower fares in individual markets than one serving small cities. The empirical analysis supports these predictions. Network characteristics are found to be important determinants of fare in 4-segment city-pair markets requiring a connection at the hub. In the 4-segment markets served by the hubs at St. Louis and Minneapolis, the empirical model predicts that recent airline mergers should have reduced fares.