European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 14, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The Cru by agis salpukas new York times Erri Mudzinski. A ticket agent for Northwest airlines a Gale 28 of the Minneapolis is. Paul International Airport hunched Over the counter and worked quickly to Board passengers on a Light to Newark due to leave in 20 minutes. The line before her was 20 deep her lingers raced Over Iho computer keyboard As she checked passengers in knowing hat even a delay cd 5 to 10 minutes on a flight from Norl Wesl 3 major Airport can snowball a delay Al the Hub can cause Many passengers id miss connecting flights in other cities or Force Northwest to delay those flights to wait for the late arrivals such nerve Iacong scenes have become commonplace Al the dozen of so major airports throughout the United slates Hal have emerged As the centers of the nation s airline system increasingly in Hie last live years the major airlines have vastly reconfigured their Louto structures instead of flying directly from one City to another they have changed travel pallens. Setting up one major distribution Point or Hub in each Region they serve most travellers especially those lying irom or to medium size cites must go through a Hub and change planes to gel to their final destinations fewer non Slop lights nonstop Are available As Well As Lewer direct flights the Industry Lerm or flights that include a Slop but no change of planes these hubs to work smoothly require airlines to coordinate thousands of employees and hundreds of planes with precision a breakdown the cancellation of a flight because of bad weather for instance can Send Ripples Nihro Ghoul the system while hubs Are nothing new never before have there been so Many Hal Are so big. The sheer magnitude has changed said Melvin a. Brenner an aviation consultant and former airline executive. Me contends that airlines have bunched operations to a degree of precision which you can t achieve in this  this helps explain the huge service problems the delayed nights cancellations and lost baggage Hal have been plaguing True airline Industry. Making matters worse As far As Many passengers Are concerned is Hal a single big airline has increasingly come to dominate each Hub. On the plug Side increased jetliner service is available to medium size and smaller cities once sen de mainly by Small commuter planes. Bui passengers flying to those cities Ollen have litle Choice of airlines. Diss Lilied passengers Otten cannot Lake their business elsewhere and often have to pay whatever the Carrier wants to charge. No surprisingly this entire scenario has raised serious questions about whether airline deregulation was such a Good idea after All. Not just academic experts Are casting a sceptical Eye. Judging from dozens of interviews Al the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport plenty of passengers and airline employees from baggage handlers to pilots have doubts that the system is working. Tim Rainey manager of ramp services at the Airport Lor Northwest said hat Al times it was a logistical Nightmare when 40 planes were on the ground to Load bags cargo and thousands of passengers. We be created a real beast Wilh this thing he said referring to the Hub approach on a recent Day about 15,000 passengers passed through the Minneapolis Hub which serves some 200 cities most arrived in three Waves in the morning around noon and in the evening. Most of the travellers interviewed saw thai one of ii the Impact off deregulation Market share of major carriers at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport showing Trie increased dominance of Northwest since deregulation in 1978. 1979 1987 at the centers of route networks since airline deregulation in 1 978, Many carriers have fashioned Central hubs. The following Are among the nation s largest. Airport Atlanta Hartsfield int l. Chicago o Hareln l. Dallas fort Worth Denver Stapleton Detroit metropolitan Houston intercontinental Memphis International Miami International Pittsburgh International is. Louis Lambert int l Mukit share Delta United american United Northwest Continental Northwest Eastern Uslar . 52.5% 49.2 63,4 44.3 64.9 71.5 86.6 48.5 02.8 82.3 secondary Canto Martlet share Eastern 423% american 27.2 Delta 23.7 Continental 40.9 american 6.9 Eastern 5.7 ,. Delta 7.1 pan am 16.6 Etem 4.1 american 2.4 Page 14 the stars and stripes saturday me