hub-and-spoke

[ huhb-uhn-spohk ]

adjective

1. of or designating a system of air transportation by which local flights carry passengers to one major regional airport where they can board long-distance or other local flights for their final destinations.

hub-and-spoke

noun

1. modifier denoting a method of organizing intercontinental air traffic in which one major airport is used as a feeder for local airports Sometimes shortened tohub

Word History and Origins

Origin of hub-and-spoke¹

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

They operate “hub-and-spoke” flights that necessitate a connection, and then they often schedule the connections too close together.

From Seattle Times

This also marked the beginning of the hub-and-spoke system, where airlines established hubs and dispatched flights along profitable “spoke” routes.

From Seattle Times

Airlines use what’s called a hub-and-spoke system, which means if you’re flying somewhere, you might be making a connection in Atlanta, Chicago or Dallas.

From Seattle Times

The agency is also forming what it calls “a hub-and-spoke health innovation network,” dubbed ARPANET-H, to help coordinate efforts such as clinical trials or tests of devices in community health centers or rural hospitals.

From Science Magazine

The campground is set up in a hub-and-spoke layout.

From Seattle Times