The study empirically investigates the network configurations of world airline routes. For the analysis of network configurations, many methodologies have been developed, such as the Gini index, the Freeman index, entropy value and the estimating of degree distribution functions. The Gini index measures the geographical concentration of network. The Freeman index and the estimating of degree distribution function enable the determination of how similar the airline and hub-and-spoke networks are. The entropy value represents the diversity of a network shape. According to the results of analysis, the shape of the world airline network is far from a hub-and-spoke network recently. Secondly, the study also investigates the competitive power of airports in each region using the centrality indices which are degree index, betweenness index and closeness index and tries to discuss some airports as the logistics or transportation hub cities in the airline networks. According to the results, PEK and DXB have competitive power as a hub airport in Asia because of theirs high scores in degree index and betweenness index. In the Americas, ORD, ATL and JFK, have high degree index and closeness index score although their betweenness scores are relatively low. The increase in the centrality scores of GRU and IST, changes caused by economic growth and upcoming sports events, is remarkable.
Keywords : Network configuration, Airline network, concentration, hub and spoke network