_Making the connection – first class air travel between key global cities

The most connected cities in the network are enlarged and drawn to the centre of the graph, while those with fewer connections shrink and are pushed to the periphery. The proximity of cities reflects the volume of traffic between them: the greater the number of passengers, the closer the cities will be, and the thicker the connecting line.  Sub-networks of cities that are particularly densely connected are grouped by colour.

It is the combination of these relationships that gives rise to the hub-and-spoke effect that can clearly be seen in the graph, with a relatively small number of very well connected cities acting as gateways to less well connected satellites.

Miami’s status as a hub for Latin American wealth is clearly shown, for example, as are the vital roles played by London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore in this critical global network.

The level of connectivity of each individual city; and the volume of passenger flows between cities - click to enlarge.