Definition of "hub-and-spoke" [hub-and-spoke]

• A system of air transportation in which local airports offer air transportation to a central airport where long-distance flights are available (noun)

WordNet. Princeton University. 2010.

• "Unlike traditional or legacy airlines, Southwest does not use a hub-and-spoke transportation model or fly a variety of aircraft."
• "But even the largest of low-fare airlines usually don't offer as comprehensive a route map as a legacy hub-and-spoke carrier."
• "US Airways is the smallest of the major hub-and-spoke legacy airlines in the U.S. It has long wanted to hitch its wagon to another carrier, and AMR is the only large opportunity left."