What are the shortest lived hubs, focus cities of bases an airline has had (something like United at Cleveland wouldn’t count as they got Cleveland through continental).

SY made PDX a focus city in 2019 with multiple destinations and a pilot base. Then they closed up shop in PDX when the pandemic came around and now they just run a seasonal flight to MSP, with no sign that they will rebuild it post-pandemic. I believe they may have had 6 or 7 destinations out of PDX back then, that they ran for under a year before pulling the plug.

Didn't America West have a hub at CMH for a short time? I think US Air tried a brief attempt at a TPA hub.

GSO for CALite?

DAY for Piedmont, COS for Pacific Western. Both airports mothballed a concourse when the hub closed.

AA's SJC experiment lasted from only 1989-1993. Definitely one of the shortest-lived in my memory in the state.

TWA - ATL
Piedmont - EWR
USAir - CLE, IND, MCI, CMH?
Eastern - MCI
Eastern - IAH, ORD (Moonlight Only)
Pan Am - IAD
America West - LAS
United - MCO, MIA
Delta - MCO
Midway - RDU
Braniff - MCI
Midwest Express - OMA
Air South - CAE
Air Atlanta - ATL
Alaska - LGB

DaCubbyBearBar wrote:

GSO for CALite?

No, that lasted longer that Skybus in GSO and CMH

Here are some more that I came up with off the top of my head . . .

California Pacific - CLD
PEOPLExpress (2014) - PHF
Florida Express - MCO
Vanguard - MCI
Air1 - STL
Kiwi International - EWR
Midway / Metrolink - MDW
Midway (1993-2003) - MDW, RDU
Presidential - IAD, DCA
McClain - STL
Eastwind - TTN, GSO

TWA -SJU

New York Air at RDU.

NW dca

afcjets wrote:

TWA - ATL
Piedmont - EWR
USAir - CLE, IND, MCI, CMH?
Eastern - MCI
Eastern - IAH, ORD (Moonlight Only)
Pan Am - IAD
America West - LAS
United - MCO, MIA
Delta - MCO
Midway - RDU
Braniff - MCI
Midwest Express - OMA
Air South - CAE
Air Atlanta - ATL
Alaska - LGB

RDU for NYAir comes to mind. With AS at LGB, was that post-SI acquisition? Did they fly LBG-PDX/SEA and DFW/ORD?

seat1a wrote:

afcjets wrote:

TWA - ATL
Piedmont - EWR
USAir - CLE, IND, MCI, CMH?
Eastern - MCI
Eastern - IAH, ORD (Moonlight Only)
Pan Am - IAD
America West - LAS
United - MCO, MIA
Delta - MCO
Midway - RDU
Braniff - MCI
Midwest Express - OMA
Air South - CAE
Air Atlanta - ATL
Alaska - LGB

RDU for NYAir comes to mind. With AS at LGB, was that post-SI acquisition? Did they fly LBG-PDX/SEA and DFW/ORD?

Actually I don't know who SI is. They flew to SEA but not PDX nonstop at least according to the schedule below. It wasn't a hub but a focus city which the TA also wanted to include. Only 12 jet flights per day in July, 1990 but since they consider PDX a "hub", I think they would definitely have considered LGB a focus city.

LGB-SJC 5x
LGB-SFO 4x
LGB-SEA 1x
LGB-BUR 1x
LGB-ONT 1x

http://www.departedflights.com/AS070190p6.html

afcjets wrote:

seat1a wrote:

afcjets wrote:

TWA - ATL
Piedmont - EWR
USAir - CLE, IND, MCI, CMH?
Eastern - MCI
Eastern - IAH, ORD (Moonlight Only)
Pan Am - IAD
America West - LAS
United - MCO, MIA
Delta - MCO
Midway - RDU
Braniff - MCI
Midwest Express - OMA
Air South - CAE
Air Atlanta - ATL
Alaska - LGB

RDU for NYAir comes to mind. With AS at LGB, was that post-SI acquisition? Did they fly LBG-PDX/SEA and DFW/ORD?

Actually I don't know who SI is. They flew to SEA but not PDX nonstop at least according to the schedule below. It wasn't a hub but a focus city which the TA also wanted to include. Only 12 jet flights per day in July, 1990 but since they consider PDX a "hub", I think they would definitely have considered LGB a focus city.

LGB-SJC 5x
LGB-SFO 4x
LGB-SEA 1x
LGB-BUR 1x
LGB-ONT 1x

http://www.departedflights.com/AS070190p6.html

Check! SI was Jet America's code. Forgive me I presumed folks knew that! Nice hub for sure.

seat1a wrote:

afcjets wrote:

seat1a wrote:

RDU for NYAir comes to mind. With AS at LGB, was that post-SI acquisition? Did they fly LBG-PDX/SEA and DFW/ORD?

Actually I don't know who SI is. They flew to SEA but not PDX nonstop at least according to the schedule below. It wasn't a hub but a focus city which the TA also wanted to include. Only 12 jet flights per day in July, 1990 but since they consider PDX a "hub", I think they would definitely have considered LGB a focus city.

LGB-SJC 5x
LGB-SFO 4x
LGB-SEA 1x
LGB-BUR 1x
LGB-ONT 1x

http://www.departedflights.com/AS070190p6.html

Check! SI was Jet America's code. Forgive me I presumed folks knew that! Nice hub for sure.

You're right, it was a Jet America hub! That's why I love a.net.

Actually you can also add Jet America's LAS hub to the list too.

"In the summer of 1986, Jet America was operating a small hub at the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) with nonstop jet service to Burbank (BUR), Chicago (ORD), Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW), Long Beach (LGB), Milwaukee (MKE), Ontario (ONT), Orange County (SNA) and St. Louis (STL) as well as direct one stop flights to Detroit (DTW) and Washington, D.C. (DCA)."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_America_Airlines

Heh, ViaAir at AUS... what a joke of an airline.

Western Pacific at Colorado Springs. Anyone have exact dates on that one?

graceintheair wrote:

I think US Air tried a brief attempt at a TPA hub.

By using the old-school definition of a hub (greater than 50 departures), TPA would have qualified as a hub, but I tend to think of the operation more as a large focus. MCO had a similar network profile as well for US during this time. No doubt US was the #1 airline at TPA pre-WN, and Airside F was a happening place during that time.

This postcard shows a bunch of Braniff II B727s and BAC 1-11s at their Terminal B hub at MCI. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braniff_(1983-1990) :
By 1988, Braniff had chosen Kansas City International Airport (MCI) as its main hub and was operating over 70 flights per day out of Kansas City.
Braniff II suspended schedule flights on November 6,1989 so this was a short-lived hub.

Also, some interesting newspaper articles on the Braniff II MCI Hub:
-From the Orlando Sentinel on August 2,1988 talking about Braniff II reducing their MCO hub and concentrating on the MCI hub. Also discusses the impact on Braniff II employees. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1988-08-02-0060030284-story.html
-From the same paper on September 3,1989 talking about how Braniff II is trying to emulate the Piedmont Hub at CLT and how it acquired the Eastern's MCI gates after they pulled out in 1988.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1989-09-03-8903010317-story.html


Source: Avery Postcards CP5626 Published: 1990

P.S. CO B727 taking off

Does United mini-hub use be in PIT? Not too sure.

Q

In terms of shortest, I think Air LA and its mini-hub at Bakersfield (BFL) - yes, BFL - lasted less time than one could purchase tickets. But on one of their scheduled timetables, most of their flights connected at BFL.

Not bad for an airport that EVERYONE has abandoned at one time.

Continental Lite at Greensboro anyone?

Maybe I'm wrong but Virgin America at DAL I remember as being short (was it even a hub?)

How long did DH last as a stand-alone carrier? 18 months? Their hub at IAD is surely one of the shortest-lived.

SkyVoice wrote:

Here are some more that I came up with off the top of my head . . .

California Pacific - CLD
PEOPLExpress (2014) - PHF
Florida Express - MCO
Vanguard - MCI
Air1 - STL
Kiwi International - EWR
Midway / Metrolink - MDW
Midway (1993-2003) - MDW, RDU
Presidential - IAD, DCA
McClain - STL
Eastwind - TTN, GSO

I would argue none of those count, as it was the airline that was short-lived. Indeed these were arguably long-lived hubs, in the sense that they lasted for the airline’s entire life!

Does America West had small hub in Wichita, KS? I remembered saw schedule ICT-DCA nonstop A320.

ICT-LAS, ICT-PHX, ICT-DCA ICT-LAX? Not sure others. I have to find OAG pocket book in my storage.


Q