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George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)


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10 hours ago, asubrt said:

Add another destination for DFW… looks like AA is starting Dallas-Brisbane this year 🫤

You beat me to it 🤣  I was waiting for the press release to abide by the "rules."  (I'm afraid we actually may not be able to count it as "actual growth" until the first flight flies, however.)

American Airlines to launch Brisbane-Dallas flights - Executive Traveller

So that's the fifth long-haul route announced for DFW since COVID (excluding HND, which replaced an NRT flight).

The last long-haul route announced for IAH was SYD in 2018 (excluding HND, which was a transfer from NRT).  That is now a seasonal flight.

Nonstop long haul destinations IAH/DFW

Europe: 7 / 11

South America: 5 / 3

Asia: 3 / 4 (counting HND and NRT separately)

Oceania: 2 / 4

Total: 17 / 22

Seems IAH is essentially being consigned to a Latin American hub.  Admittedly, a lot of that has to do with AA's poor route network, but that doesn't stop the negative effects for IAH (think gravity model of economics).

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And make that 2 more long-haul routes as GIG is also being added.

Bound for Brisbane: American Airlines to fly Down Under next winter - American Airlines Newsroom (aa.com)

VER also added, I think in this case it is a resumption, which is a good time to highlight the fact that IAH isn't even number 1 to Mexico anymore and hasn't been since 2019:

Seats to Mexico by calendar year IAH/DFW, in millions:

2010: 1.906 / 1.309

2015: 2.095 / 1.808

2019: 2.091 / 2.066 

2023: 2.510 / 2.825

Destinations served CY 2023: IAH 22 / DFW 24

No unique destinations are served from HOU.

You can't blame that on ORD, EWR, and IAD being more geographically convenient to Mexico.  Granted, the majority of HOU's international service is to Mexico, albeit to beach destinations.  For reference, HOU had 0.371MM seats to Mexico in CY 2023, which means IAH and HOU combined was only 2% higher than DFW alone.

The air traffic statistics for Houston have been comparatively awful for quite some time, but considering since Houston can be so famously insular, it's understandably easy to have one's head in the sand.

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I found a couple more renderings and a little clarification on United's plans for Terminal B; thanks to Page (architects of the Central Process additions and rebuild).  https://www.pagethink.com/publication/2024/airport-terminal-modernization-designing-united-airlines-terminal-b-houston

There will be a 250,000 square foot addition to the central processor building (the addition is to the east of the existing central processor building, on what is currently a surface parking lot; work is supposed to start in this area next week, I believe.) The addition will contain a new ticketing hall on the ground level with 48 check-in counters, up from the current 12. TSA will be on the second level of the addition, with 14 security lanes (up from the current 4 in Terminal B).

The original 275,000 square foot Terminal B central processor building will contain a "post-security central square, providing access to adjacent concourses" on the second level (where the ticketing hall is currently located), and a redesigned bag claim hall on the ground level.

They say Terminal B will have the capacity to handle up to 90,000 passengers per day. There will be roadway access on all four sides central processor building, using "innovative, dynamic signage for curbside flexibility."  That will be interesting to see.

Southeast curbside view of the ticketing lobby (ground level of the addition).

Southeast%20curbside%20view%20of%20ticketing.jpg

Security screening - Second level of the addition.

Security%20screening.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Still not the major addition we are hoping for, but UA is starting seasonal Saturday-only E-175 service to Traverse City, Michigan (TVC) from June 29 to August 17. This makes four new destinations from UA starting this year, joining SAF, TQO, and GEO (though only Tulum is year-round daily). Fingers crossed that once the International Terminal construction is complete in the next year we will see more destinations. 
 

https://www.traverseticker.com/news/cherry-capital-airport-adds-direct-service-to-houston/

Edited by asubrt
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  • 2 weeks later...

 

 
International Traffic Report:
 
DECEMBER 2023:
 
  • Bush Intercontinental: 1,048,813 (up 12.9% from 2022)
  • Hobby International:  76,903 (up 2.9% from 2022)
  • Houston Total:  1,125,716 (up 12.2% from 2022)
  • DFW:                1,034,614  (up 12.4% from 2022)
  • San Antonio:    68,190  (up 25.9% from 2022)

CY 2023:

  •    Bush Intercontinental:  11,589,918 (up 21.5% from 2022)
  •    Hobby International:          974,099 (up 6.6% from 2022)
  •    Houston Total:                 12,564,017 (up 20.2% from 2022)
  •    DFW:                                     11,156,658  (up 14.0% from 2022)
  •   San Antonio:                           621,321  (up 11.8% from 2022)
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It's pretty clear that in United's hub structure IAH won't be getting many trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific routes any time soon (maybe CDG or ZRH in the next five years, but not much imo). However, I think there is the opportunity to increase Central/South American flying in the relatively near future. Which of these destinations (or others) could we realistically see in the next few years? I know that the vast majority of these won't happen, but they are largely destinations that were previously served by CO/UA, or served from other US cities.

Mexico:

Chihuahua (CUU)

Durango (DGO)

Huatulco (HUX)

Loreto (LTO)

Toluca (TLC)

Torreon (TRC)

Tuxtla Gutierrez (TGZ)

Zacatecas (ZCL)

Central America:

David Sur, Panama (DAV)

Flores, Guatemala (FRS)

La Ceiba, Honduras (LCE)

South America:

Cali, Colombia (CLO)

Cartagena, Colombia (CTG)

Cusco, Peru (CUZ)

Guayaquil, Ecuador (GYE)

Montevideo, Uruguay (MVD)

Santa Cruz, Bolivia (VVI)

Caribbean: 

Barbados (BGI)

Curacao (CUR)

Freeport, Bahamas (FPO)

Grenada (GND)

Kingston, Jamaica (KIN)

St. Lucia (UVF)

St. Maarten (SXM)

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On 2/15/2024 at 6:21 PM, Houston19514 said:

The last of Bush Airport's original banjos are being demolished as I type.

 

Image

Those banjos worked really well when you were coming in on a Braniff 727...

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  • 1 month later...

Out at IAH, retaining existing service at HOU.

Southwest Airlines to end operations at Houston's IAH airport - Houston Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

"Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) will no longer service Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and three other airports as of Aug. 4."

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I wonder if Frontier will use the A3 gates now? I think Frontier has briefly moved to using some D gates as they have expanded quite a bit recently at IAH. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Architect - https://fsb-ae.com

https://fsb-ae.com/project/aircraft-maintenance-complex/

Fast-tracked maintenance facilities assist United Airlines with move to Houston’s Bush Airport

This three-year project was fast-tracked to create a multi-facility maintenance complex at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. The new complex allows United Airlines to consolidate its heavy and routine aircraft maintenance by transferring its operations from their inadequate facilities at William P. Hobby Airport to more spacious quarters at Bush Intercontinental Airport.

The buildings support both line maintenance and heavy maintenance of United’s fleet of Boeing aircraft models 737, 757, 777 and 787. This $160 million project includes a new 185,000 SF 2.5-bay line maintenance hangar that encloses three wide-body aircraft, new 17,600 SF GSE building, new 26,430 SF engine build-up building (EBU), the addition of 500,000 SF of aircraft apron including 460 LF of blast fence, two engine run-up pads, new 120,000 SF heavy maintenance support shops building, renovation of existing Hangar E for narrow-body heavy maintenance, renovation of a 125,000 SF existing material / parts storage building, and a new 25,000 SF bulk storage building.

A challenge with this project was when the AHJ changed sites on us in the middle of planning. Our team quickly adjusted and kept this entire project on-track by weekly clients meetings and fast turnarounds for design deliverables.

The facilities include a number of sustainable design features, including high-efficiency HVAC, plumbing and LED lighting fixtures, widespread use of natural lighting, design for a future photovoltaic solar collection system, and the use of native plant species to reduce the need for irrigation. Multiple fire protection and security systems are in place, including a blast deflector capable of withstanding the full power take-off velocities of all commercial aircraft.

XEsmEZ7.png

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Any updates on when the new D west pier will open? It was originally scheduled to open Spring 2024, then Summer 2024. I doubt they would open during the busy summer travel season.

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15 hours ago, yaga said:

Any updates on when the new D west pier will open? It was originally scheduled to open Spring 2024, then Summer 2024. I doubt they would open during the busy summer travel season.

The only official word I’ve seen is still “summer 2024”.  Reading the tea leaves, I think it might be next month (July)

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On 6/22/2024 at 10:22 AM, Houston19514 said:

The only official word I’ve seen is still “summer 2024”.  Reading the tea leaves, I think it might be next month (July)

You're probably right. Had three domestic united flights in the past month and a half and they all left from terminal D (and not D1-3). I suspect they are trial running timings for D gates.

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  • 1 month later...

I'm hearing that D West will open in August.  There was a ribbon cutting scheduled for July, but it was cancelled.  Not sure how much of that had to do with Beryl.

In other news, there might be a movement to name Terminal B after Sheila.  (Terminal D is named after Mickey Leland.)  Sheila's district did include IAH.

https://x.com/shea_jordan/status/1818417338649031063

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New details out about the dining and shopping options in Terminal D West (https://www.fly2houston.com/newsroom/articles/new-iah-terminal-d-west-be-foodie-and-shoppers-paradise), and art (https://www.fly2houston.com/newsroom/articles/eight-new-art-installations-inside-iah-terminal-d-west-pier-welcome-passengers) but no news on opening day yet.

 

They are however apparently running "familiarization tours" for airport staff, police, etc. (https://www.fly2houston.com/newsroom/articles/sneak-peek-step-inside-new-iah-d-west-pier)

Edited by JBTX
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Not surprising, it's a terrible route. Not only is it 22 hours long, the timing is terrible.

I'm off to Singapore/Indonesia next month and looked at just about every route other than that one. Unfortunately, the wife put her foot down on taking the SIN-JFK route so I don't get to knock off "longest commercial flight in the world," but that's ok.

Sad to see Singapore go from IAH, but yeah, that flight just isn't the answer. Maybe with a better 5th freedom connection.

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