Abstract
Air passengers making a connecting journey are vigorously contested between rival airlines and airports. This paper aims to examine the performance of the major European hubs and the competitive interactions between them. The theoretical potential of the different European airports as a hub based on the range of services available is identified. Other factors such as geographical location, ground handling times and schedule co-ordination are then evaluated. An analysis of journey times is made via all alternative hubs for a range of intercontinental markets from Europe. The impact of changes in service provision is then considered, leading to a schedule-based methodology for forecasting transfer flows. (A)