Data from aviation analytics company Cirium shows the ‘most connected airports’ meaning the airports that serve the most destinations. Here are the top 10 U.S. airports, with Chicago O’Hare able to send passengers non-stop to more places than any other.
| Rank | Name | # Destinations | Domestic | International | ||||
| 1 | Chicago O’Hare | 270 | 195 | 75 | ||||
| 2 | Dallas Fort Worth | 261 | 193 | 68 | ||||
| 3 | Atlanta | 237 | 158 | 79 | ||||
| 4 | Denver | 229 | 194 | 35 | ||||
| 5 | Miami | 198 | 88 | 110 | ||||
| 6 | Los Angeles | 195 | 117 | 78 | ||||
| 7 | New York JFK | 193 | 70 | 123 | ||||
| 8 | Houston Bush | 192 | 121 | 71 | ||||
| 9 | Charlotte | 188 | 146 | 42 | ||||
| 10 | Newark | 187 | 95 | 92 |
You might expect the most destinations out of New York, but realize that there are two separate New York airports in the top 10 and also that the number of flights out of New York JFK and New York LaGuardia are both capped (slot restricted). You might also expect Los Angeles to be more connected, but from the West Coast you won’t see service to as many destinations in Europe.
One interesting aspect of mega hubs is precisely this connectivity. Large cities will see service from plenty of airlines, if those carriers can gain access to gates and slots (where required). But Dallas, Atlanta, Denver, and Charlotte clearly punch above their weight.
That’s because of their roles as major hubs for the largest U.S. airlines. It’s precisely that size that supports so much flying. We often think of Charlotte seeing a tradeoff – plenty of non-stop service they wouldn’t otherwise see, but also higher fares from less competition since they’re so dominated by a single carrier. Charlotte of course simply wasn’t built for this.
That’s true but too narrow a view. One of the benefits of airline consolidation, and I’m a frequent critic of it but I can still recognize this, is increase in flying. Despite – indeed, perhaps because of – airline consolidation, there are seven times as many flights in the U.S. compared to deregulation.
While anti-trust analysis usually assumes that merged airlines consolidate and reduce flying, they actually increase flying because of hub effects. A large airline hub supports connectivity. You add a flight to a hub, and that flight can connect passengers to numerous destinations. The larger the airline and hub, the most connections it can support, the more flights it makes sense to add.
In Canada, by the way, Toronto Pearson is the best connected airport – serving 202 destinations, 168 of which are international (the U.S. being, by far, the largest number). Worldwide, Istanbul is top with 309 destinations. Turkish Airlines flies pretty much everywhere.
“But Dallas, Atlanta, Denver, and Charlotte clearly punch above their weight.”
I’m being petty, but I don’t think Dallas is punching above its weight if it’s in that list but Chicago isn’t. Chicago is the #3 metro area in the US, Dallas is #4.
Chicago is shrinking, Dallas is growing. Some estimates are that DFW will pass Chicagoland around 2030 in population.
However, I completely agree with you much of the DFW population growth is due to the massive connectivity of the DFW airport.
Turkish air does not fly to the Cradle of Liberty., Philadelphia
Having lived in the Metroplex for a couple of years, I’d rather be back home in Chicago, the best connected city of all. And if you Noo Yawkers want to play numbers games, MDW is very, very well-connected, so adding things up will out help you.
One of the best benefits of living in Dallas is how many non-stop or just one stop in Chicago options there are. Given how easy it is to fly from Dallas to Chicago, I almost consider that a non-stop.
Interesting that SFO is not on the list but that speaks to it being dominated by United and no one else.
Chicago benefits from its location and the size of the metro area, its use by multiple airlines vs hubs that are dominated by a single carrier, and the reworking of runways which makes ORD a fairly well-run airport. An airport in the middle of the country and the northern tier should be very well connected and ORD does that.
ORD’s downfall will be the massive new terminal which will make it much more expensive per passenger than any other US airport and that will hurt its ability to serve as a connecting airport.
It is notable the difference in int’l vs domestic destinations at EWR vs JFK. JFK has always worked hand in hand with LGA while EWR has tried to be a one side fits all hub.
DEN is a very large domestic airport but has very limited international service in part because of the altitude.
It would be worth putting number of passengers served alongside that plus percentage of capacity flown by regional jets to see why ATL is not higher on the list of domestic destinations. DL simply does not have as high of a percentage of its total fleet using regional jets and thus will not serve some destinations that other airlines like AA serves from DFW – even on 3+ hour RJ flights.
The article byline should be “most nonstop flights domestically“
From an international standpoint it lags way behind NYC, ATL, and MIA. Chicago is not competitive when it comes to airfares internationally compared to its East Coast cities I mentioned.
@MaxPower – the meausre is not the population, it’s connectors vs. O/D pax. More than 60% of DFW passengers are connectors.
@Dan – I don’t think SFO not being on the list is because of United. SFO simply isn’t geographically viable for a mega connecting hub. It works great for Asia, but the West Coast population centers are more consolidated into a half dozen or so metros (SAN, LA, SF, SMF, PDX, SEA) than the East and South, and many of them have service to major markets where people want to go. So it doesn’t make logical sense for many flows like DFW/ORD/ATL might. Also the traveler demographics are different with SF having both high affluence and being a tourist destination, it swings more towards O/D traffic than connecting traffic. SFO is closer to 25% connections compared to DFW which is over 60%.
There are NOT 2 separate airports in the top 10 I only count 1 airport in the top 10, as LGA is not listed in the top `0. The last time I looked at a map, EWR was still in NJ.
You could make the case that FLL should be included along with MIA, DAL should be included with DFW<MDW shouls be included with ORD, SJC with SFO, SNAand other airport in metro LA, and so on.
Otherwise, don't try to rationalize JFK's position.
It’s also worth noting that ATL has the highest number of international destinations of any non-coastal airport of more specifically MIA and NYC’s two international airports.
As much as some want to believe otherwise, Atlanta is a very international city now. The Olympics did wonders to elevate Atlanta’s image as a global city on the global stage.
Chicago-ORD being a primary hub for both United/Star Alliance and American Airlines/Oneworld does a lot to make O’hare what it is. Chicago has Midway airport too, but my use ratio of Ohare to Midway is over 200:1.
ORD would have been even better connected if American Airlines hadn’t de-emphasized international long-haul routes from ORD.
Incomplete list . Kahului , Maui (OGG) is not included ; nor is Boise , Idaho . Come on , Gary .
Chicago also benefits from the number of people beyond the city and neighboring counties willing to drive to/from Chicago for trips. It is the starting/ending airport for travelers for much of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and even Minnesota. [That willingness to drive is also what sort of cannibalizes air travel demand/supply to the smaller airports in large parts of these states.]
ATL – like Delta itself – sucks.
lol
Oh tim
The Olympics elevated Atlanta for Alabama
No one else. No one thinks your city is a tourist destination even if delta tries to sell it as lakefront in austin 😉
Your cool factor is a huge rock with Robert E Lee on it
Maybe take that down?
well, to no surprise, you show up to argue about yet another topic and yet the chart above is clear.
Atlanta, a smaller metro area than a number of metro areas on the list above, has more international destinations than any other US city except the two NYC area international airports and MIA.
Get over it, Max.
and tell us how many international flights operate from the entire state of Alabama.
you are pathologically unable to let some people say what they want and it is apparent the more you meltdown
no wonder you use that fake make up name
@TimDunn … In the old days of Delta’s L-1011 and 747 , it went an extra mile for the passenger . I can remember connecting late from Atlantic Southeast Airlines to a Delta L-1011, and a Delta agent drove me across the tarmac in a Delta auto to the L-1011 . Only problem is I am disabled and could not walk up the outside stairs , so they took me inside , up an elevator , and down the jetway . I somehow doubt it would do the same today , with the current grouch of U.S. service workers .
“While anti-trust analysis usually assumes that merged airlines consolidate and reduce flying, they actually increase flying because of hub effects.
No.
A large airline hub supports connectivity. You add a flight to a hub, and that flight can connect passengers to numerous destinations.
Regardless of whether it is the same airline or another one so long as passengers can buy travel on all carriers;
The larger the airline and hub, the most connections it can support, the more flights it makes sense to add”
Hub, not airline. Larger airline concentration = higher prices.
None of your claims is argued by the paper you reference:
The airline does not have to be bigger for networking benefits so long as passengers can buy multi-carrier travel;
The effect of the hypothetical Virgin America-Alaska merger was argued to be lower concentration (p. 4), hence lower prices and more travel;
Greater concentration leads to higher prices, the article does not question that well-established fact;
How exactly is DFW “punching above it’s weight” Gary? I know your an Austinite, but maybe check the latest news: DFW is the 4th largest MSA in the country and WILL surpass Chicagoland by 2030. FACTS. Heck, Fort Worth (ON IT’S OWN) is the 12th largest city in the U.S. and will be at least the 10th by the next census in 2030. Wanna guess who #11 and #10 are? Austin and Jacksonville, and they are only 2000 and 6000 more than Fort Worth with .5% and 2% growth compared to Fort Worth with a whopping 7% growth. So stop talking down about DFW in general, and stop calling it just Dallas.
“It’s also worth noting that ATL has the highest number of international destinations of any non-coastal airport”
It also has the highest number of international destinations of any airport in Georgia. You can make up any metrics you want. It’s pretty much meaningless.
it’s quite meaningful that ATL has more international destinations than DFW or ORD or IAH let alone LAX or SFO.
The fact that you don’t like to admit that it is true doesn’t matter one iota.
Burt is less educated than Fatty, by his logic Cincinnati dies not have an airport because it is across the river in Kentucky….? Of course not. Newark serves the NYC metro . Facts are stubborn things.
btw, someone is posting data on another site that includes destinations by airline from each airport and they combined DL’s destination list for JFK and LGA and removed duplicates and came up with 135 destinations served by DL from NYC, the most of any US airline at any coastal hub. Add in that DL’s hub at ATL leads all US carriers in destinations served from a single hub and it isn’t hard to see why DL’s profitability is as high as it is.
It also makes it very hard to justify the statements that question DL’s profitability in NYC.
Tim
Delta flying to the Caribbean a lot means nothing just like dfw international numbers pumped up with Mexico
The way you try to sound smart is so laughable
Also
Tim
Are you now back to being from Atlanta? It’s so tough keeping up with your fake usernames
midget mind mini brain proves that he opens his mouth before he thinks -again.
If the Caribbean doesn’t count, then AA’s presence from MIA and CLT is a whole lot smaller relative to ATL than if “short haul” international is included.
In fact, DL’s ATL hub is more global than any other US carrier hub; UA at EWR would be the closest match but DL has more flights and cities to E. Asia than UA at EWR and more deep S. America. DL serves more of Europe from ATL than any other hub outside of the NE.
ATL is simply as global of a city because DL has build such a massive hub – serving the most cities than any other US airline from that hub.
And given that DL serves more cities from NYC than any other coastal airline hub, DL is a whole lot more global than what internet folk lore says.
“One of the benefits of airline consolidation, and I’m a frequent critic of it but I can still recognize this, is increase in flying”.
As someone who lives in Charlotte, I agree – airline consolidation does increase flying. I fly more. Mostly from GSP or CAE via CLT to my destination in order to save around 30% over just flying out of Charlotte. In addition to cheaper fares – more air miles and sectors, cheaper parking and TSA you can get through quickly too. My carbon footprint sucks though.
@MaxPower :
when summers are getting painfully hotter with each passing year, idiots who move to the sun belt will regret it before the decade is over.
maybe a decade from now Montreal would become an extremely popular place for retirees, while Dallas Metroplex would feel more like Death Valley, and Phoenix residents would feel like they live inside a microwave.
ain’t no amount of low taxes, laissez faire regulatory framework, and cheap real estate would convince me to move INTO the oven.
@TimDunn :
ATL having more intl is meaningless cuz it’s just filled to the brim with Caribbean islands.
I think it’s much more telling that delta’s ultra mega hub of Atlanta has far fewer international destinations than EWR – the airport DL and AA loyalists claim that’s even more backwater than Havana, Caracas, Tehran, and Pyongyang combined.
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