Southwest Airlines gets Approval for Houston Hobby International Terminal

[phork]

Houston Mayor Annise Parker gives details of $100 million Hobby Airport expansion | abc13.com

All the while, United was crying about it causing job loss, now they are threatening:

United said earlier this month it might cancel $700 million in improvements to Terminal B at IAH and it might drop some service from Houston.

So, they try to block it by saying it will cause a loss of jobs. Now that they get approval, they are saying that they might cut some service from Houston which means less flights...and a loss in jobs...

I say bring it on Southwest. I would much rather fly Southwest than United when I want to get out of Houston even if it is an extra 20 minutes added onto my drive to the airport.

 

[cvchief]

Wow SW can go Int'l in 2014? That is AWESOME news......the bigs better watch out....!

Aren't they kinda doing that now since they bought Airtran?

 

[Christi]

This is happy news!!!!! Thank you for sharing!!!!!

If Jet Blue can do it from Florida, there is no reason Southwest can't do it from TX!

 

[AggieDiver]

United would be foolish to cut flights to and from Houston. Anything they dropped would immediately be picked up by Southwest or some other airline connecting through Hobby to Southwest. Sure, they are going to have to cut fares and will make less money on their Latin American routes, but it is unlikely that Southwest being in the market will make the routes completely unprofitable. I think them making major cuts at IAH is highly unlikely. Their other major hubs are all already overcrowded with little room for expansion. Houston is the 4th largest city in the US and one of the fastest growing. It is a very business friendly city that is likely to grow even more with the return of domestic exploration of shale hydrocarbon plays. Bailing on it now, would irretrievably damage their already bad reputation and would be a major barrier to future business in the region.

I think it is far more likely that United will try to use their Chicago connections to the White House to get the FAA or Customs to block the new terminal instead. If we can hold out until November, hopefully that option will be off the table to them also...

 

[Diver Kat]

So glad to see this going thru .... have always loved Southwest - flown them for years for business between Austin & Dallas, and would love to be able to take them to Coz. I keep hoping they'll go direct from Austin to Coz, but if they can do it thru Hobby, that's almost as good. I do hope that this will help improve Hobby overall, because, unless they've done some major overhauling since I was there last, Hobby is a pretty sucky airport!

 

[budaman]

AirTran starts Austin to Cancun and return direct flights this weekend. Not Coz, but it's a start....customs in Austin again!

 

[Pelagicsal]

The routes were one of the biggest reasons SW acquires AirTran, from what I understand. That cheaper option /fare competition ATL to CUN has been nice to have!

 

[Ron Lee]

Wasn't there a Mexican airline that flew from Austin to Cancun not long ago?

 

[tejasdiver]

Wasn't there a Mexican airline that flew from Austin to Cancun not long ago?

I think it was Viva Aerobus? Their website was very confusing to me checking airfare............

 

[Sue Sue]

Thanks for the update. After the last flight we had on UNITED, the first since the change from Continental, I will say that we will try another airline if the option presents itself. We have been Continental flyers for many years, but, the changes that have been made have changed our minds. If SW is going to give this new route a try, then we just may as well.