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> Wasn't this the driving force behind the hum and spoke model?

No, the range of small jets (which were constrained by relatively unreliable, inefficient engines) was. Small jets can safely go further today than they could before. Boeing saw this. To be fair, Airbus also saw this. Political factors, similar to those behind NASA’s Space Shuttle debacle, constrained them to making a giant ass plane.

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This.

To be fair, Airbus actually owned the big twin market until the 767 and 757 came out. Then those planes (as well as Airbus's own planes) fragmented transatlantic flying. Then they lost their way when they focused on the A380 - but the engines that enabled the 787 were not yet out.

This is a great video on the economics of the hub and spoke vs. direct model embodied by the A380 vs 787: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlIdzF1_b5M

That channel also has alot of very interesting content on the economics of air travel (e.g., seating classes, how tickets are priced, etc).

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