U.S. Airports Are the Kings of Connections

Major U.S. airports offer easier connections to more locales than airports in other parts of the world, according to a report from the aviation data analytics company OAG.

The study, the 2016 Megahubs Index, measured the total number of possible connections between inbound and outbound flights within a six-hour window at the world's 100 largest airports. Its findings are based upon the world's busiest day of global aviation in the 12 months that ended Sept. 30. Connections within an airline as well interline connections were counted.

U.S. airports, OAG found, hold nine of the top 10 spots on the list. Leading the way is Chicago O'Hare, where on a single August day there were more than 270,000 possible connections within a six-hour window. The remainder of the top five includes Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver and Charlotte.

Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport was the most connected international airport, offering 40,000 potential connections in the six-hour window. London Heathrow offered the most connection combinations in Europe.

In total, U.S. airports occupy 22 of the top 50 spots on the list.

OAG also analyzed airports for their low-cost carrier connectivity. The authors only considered connections within a single carrier.

They found that Chicago Midway, Baltimore/Washington and Las Vegas, all of which are dominated by Southwest, led the way. Phoenix and Denver round out the top five on the list, followed by the top international airport for low-cost connections, Sao Paula Congonhas, where Gol is the lead low-cost carrier.

U.S. airports occupy 10 of the 25 spots on the OAG low-cost megahubs list.