Chicago O'Hare offers more flight connectivity than any
airport in the U.S., according to the Megahubs U.S. Index prepared by airline analytics
company OAG.
O'Hare took the top spot by offering as many as 81,913
possible one-stop domestic flight connections during a three-hour window.
It's the third consecutive year that O'Hare has held the top
U.S. position in the OAG Megahubs Index. The airport is buoyed by Chicago's
central U.S. location and the hub operations of United and American. Both carriers
have pursued a strategy of beefing up regional connectivity from O'Hare over
the past year.
Rounding out OAG's top five for domestic U.S connectivity
are Delta hub Atlanta, American hub Charlotte, American hub Dallas/Fort Worth
and Denver, which is a United hub and one of Southwest's largest focus cities.
The biggest mover in the 25-deep ranking was New York
LaGuardia, which rose from 24th to 14th. Philadelphia was another significant
mover, jumping from 14th place to 10th place. Honolulu was the only airport to
drop out of the top 10, sliding from ninth in last year's index to 15th this
year.
OAG also does an international ranking for flight
connectivity. London Heathrow topped the international ranking, followed O'Hare,
Frankfurt and Amsterdam.
"Megahubs are incredibly important for the global
travel ecosystem," senior OAG analyst John Grant said in a statement. "They
increase efficiency, competition and choice, and, most importantly, create a
boundary-less world for travelers."