www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Twas merely a suggestion. Not to mention that, for my taste and lifestyle, Houston has much more to offer for the night before your flight. NTM, I didn't realize Austin was a 6 hr drive from Corpus.

hubs are where they are for very good reasons. each one has its own dynamic, but bottom line is hubs are where they are because of passnger demand. hub cities get a lot of traffic originating and terminating in that city. ATL averages 55%-60% of delta's passengers originating/terminating travel in atlanta. An airline has 2 almost completely different business models in their hubs.

1. attract and retain the core business in the city itself, preferably as many business travelers as possible, charge a premium for the convenience and build a loyal follower.
2. fill the remaining seats from the spokes of the hub, sometimes requiring low prices in less affluent markets, or with tourists, who typically won't pay what a hub city passenger will

the majority of miles redeemed come by far from passengers starting travel in the hub city, so the loyal follower philosophy definitely works. this is also why there are capacity controls on award tickets.

there is only one real reason, if you cut through all the bs, why the airlines price the way they do -- it works

I miss living in a hub city (even if it was just Memphis). It's nice to drive 20 minutes to the airport and be in mexico, jamaica, etc. within 3 or 4 hours

I was a diamond with delta in 2011, barely made silver for 2012, because without the hub, they are useless to me out here on the west coast. united (actually the old continental routes) and AA are a far better deal. plat with united and working on status with AA

SR