European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 14, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Nch at America s airline hubs biggest advantages or ins hubs is thai their outgoing connecting lights Are rarely held if their incoming High is delayed. For just thai reason Robert e. Allison a regional sales manager for Rte Power mate which is based in Parsippany . And makes switches Tor Power systems said he had eliminated non essential Luggage. He Pule whal to needs in a soil bag that he can shove into a bin or under a Seal he said and carries Only a bag Slung Over his shoulder another Small bag and a briefcase. That spares him worry about lost Luggage and enables him to run for connections and if he makes them he is All set. Passengers who Check baggage Lind that even if they sprint and catch a connecting Light their baggage 13 never on the same plane. Many passengers now follow Allison s strategy and carry All their Luggage aboard which in turn creates other problems overcrowded Luggage bins disputes with fellow passengers Aboul who can put what where. And arguments with Light attendants Aboul oversize packages brought into the Cabin. The Tickel agents catch their share of arguments As Well for it is they who must Deal with passengers who miss a connecting Light. Angry passengers have thrown punches and briefcases at her Mutzl Nykl said. The pressures of operating a Hub have grown so great that Northwest recently began giving its Lickel agents and flight attendants special training in dealing with stressful situations when the airline Industry was deregulated in 1978, proponents predicted thai a slew of new airlines would be created. The resulting increase in Competition would keep prices Down and the level of service up. That happened initially but people express and most of the dozens of airlines that took to the air in the Early Days of deregulation have gone bankrupt or been acquired. Several major airlines have also alien to the wave of takeovers Hal has swept the Industry. As a result Many major cities especially the ones where hubs Are located have come under the control of one or two carriers. Thus Northwest which acquired Detroit based Republic airlines last year now controls 83 percent of the traffic at the twin cities 87 percent in Memphis and 65 percent in Detroit. In Many of Northwest s smaller to medium size cities such As grand rapids Mich. Erie a. Baton Rouge la., and Bismarck . It is the Only big Carrier offering jetliner service. Of some big airlines boast of How they have created a Loyal group of customers with their Hub and spoke systems by offering so Many destinations end frequent flyer benefits Many passengers say they Aro Loyal simply because they have no Choice. One such passenger is Roger Roland an assistant division manager or Philip Morris in Green Bay wis. He complains that Northwest is the Only Carrier serving Green say with big combo Lable jetliners. Commuter airlines affiliated with Northwest Midway and american provide 23 lights a Day from Green Bay to Chicago another major Hub Wilh smaller propeller planes. Whether the Huo and spoke systems have enabled the dominant earner in a Given system to charge higher ivember14,1987 fares is a matter o dispute Steven g. To Chmeler the chairman and chief executive of Northwest contended that the answer was no. If a Carrier s fares get too much out of line Wilh other carriers traffic begins to move to a competing Hub. Travie l Tanner the president of ask or. Foster the nation s largest full service travel Agency agreed with Rothmeier. He noted that United airlines for instance had recently added hourly service Between Chicago and Minneapolis. That provides an alternative for Minneapolis area travellers who can Hook into the United system. United presumably entered the Market because Over the last three years. Northwest has raised ils prices by about 30 percent he said. That increase is in line with Northwest s higher costs although the airline might have trouble justifying it to passengers Given the deteriorating service Tanner said. But while average airline fares in the twin cities and throughout the country have risen at a relatively moderate rate Many experts say thai the Overall figures Are somewhat misleading. They hide what has happened in markets where there is less Competition these experts say. In a study of pricing patterns during deregulation Brenner the consultant found wide Lare disparities on routes of the same distance. Carriers try to make up the Revenue they have lost on competitive routes by charging More on routes where they have Little Competition he said. Northwest s ares seem to substantiate his conclusion. The full coach Lare irom Green Bay to Minneapolis a distance of 252 Miles is $198, Lor instance. The full coach Are from Green Bay to Kansas City mo., a distance of 494 Miles is $230. The major reason that the Kansas City Lare is not proportionally bigger Northwest officials acknowledged is that there is competitive service to Kansas City through other hubs primarily Chicago a less important reason they said is it also costs Northwest less Pel mile to Fly a longer distance during an interview at Northwest s new Headquarters in Minneapolis Rothmeier recalled that most major carriers had turned to hubs after other strategies faded. During 1979 and 1980, he said most airlines redeployed their planes to serve As Many major alias As possible. On one Day Northwest entered 39 new  As airlines rushed to expand service markets became saturated and fare wars erupted then As the competitive Battle heated up the carriers were hit with the Energy crisis which More than doubled the Cost of Jet Luello $1.25 a gallon. Next the air traffic controllers struck and the subsequent cutback in the number of controllers at major airports forced airlines to Cut Back their service to the busiest airports. It s those concerns that pushed us to begin service to smaller cities rom hubs Rothmeier said he acknowledged that the airlines have a Way logo before service returns to an acceptable level yet he insisted that Northwest had already significantly improved ils on time performance baggage handling and Overall customer service. However while some experts and Northwest employees believe that the Hub approach has been pushed to ils limit. Northwest and virtually All major carriers Hope to expand. Such plans could make an already bad St ipalion the stars and stripes Paga is