Point-to-point transit

Point-to-point is a transportation system in which a plane, bus and train travels through the destination, rather than going to the central hub. This differs from the hub and spoke in which it goes to the central location where passengers can change to another train, bus or plane to reach another destination.

Advantages

 * It eliminates the need for connections.
 * It considerably reduces travel time.
 * It considerably reduces risk of baggage loss or baggage arriving much later than the passenger, as baggage is not transferred as fast as passengers.
 * Total fuel and pollution per passenger is lower: a passenger flying directly from Brussels to San Francisco will burn less fuel than flying via London or New York.
 * Without the need to satisfy connections for passengers, trips in a point-to-point system are less interdependent, but the operational constraints of needing to have sufficient equipment and personnel in each location at the right time to satisfy the timetable remain. That minimizes the risk of the domino effect in which the delayed arrival of one trip into a place leads to delayed departures of the (often) multiple trips with which its passengers had to make connections, cascading delays through the network. Therefore, a point-to-point system is less prone to delays.
 * It has proven advantageous in the air cargo industry in which freight is carried in the unused baggage hold space on passenger flights ("belly cargo"). Traditionally, large cargo aircraft are scheduled to fly between large hubs so freight often has to be forwarded on by additional flights or by rail or road. Belly cargo carried point to point can be delivered closer to its final destination.

Disadvantages

 * If a desired origin–destination pair is not served, passengers will have to make a connection as in the hub model or travel by another mode of transportation. Low-cost carriers typically do not facilitate or honor connections, even if the consecutive flights are operated by that carrier and arrive and depart from the same airport.
 * The frequency of trips may be reduced because the number of origin–destination pairs is orders of magnitude larger.