1 week Ago By Aaron Bailey
Texas , the Lone Star State, located in the South Central region, is the second most populated state in the US. With over 29 million residents, according to the Texas Department of Transportation , the Federal Aviation Administration oversees more than 400 airports across the state. Home to multiple airlines Texas is home to many airports and some of the most familiar airlines in America's sky.
American Airlines , one of America's 'Big Three' carriers, is headquartered in Fort Worth. Its headquarters campus, which is seven stories and 1.6 million square feet, is home to approximately 12,000 staff.
Southwest Airlines , the world's largest operator of the Boeing 737 family of aircraft and by far the world's largest low-cost carrier, has its headquarters in Love Field, a stone's throw from Houston-Hobby International Airport (one of its largest hubs). Also based in Dallas is JSX , a newcomer to the aviation market after being founded eight years ago. It is a newly styled hop-on, hop-off jet service that operates a fleet of 47 aircraft to 22 destinations in the US.
Alongside these, the Oneworld alliance also calls the Lone Star State home. Continental Airlines was headquartered in Houston before its merger with United Airlines in March 2012. While this list is not exhaustive, there is one more carrier worth acknowledging: Avelo Airlines .
Based in Houston, Texas, it is a rapidly growing ultra-low-cost carrier that just recently acquired its latest Boeing 737 aircraft and aided its domestic and international expansion across the US. The airline shows no signs of slowing down, with two more 737s expected soon. Want answers to more key questions in aviation? Check out the rest of our guides here .
Busiest airports in Texas Using data from Cirium , an online aviation analytics company, Simple Flying analyzed the top five busiest airports by Q2 2023 seats and utilized this information also to understand the largest carriers and their key markets. Did any of this information surprise you? 1 Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) 12,076,071 seats in Q2, 2023 By far the busiest airport in Texas, Dallas/Fort Worth is the home of American Airlines. In Q2 of 2023, the airport offered more than 12 million seats, an increase of 8% compared to Q2 of 2019, pre-pandemic.
It is no surprise that American Airlines is the largest operator at the airport, providing direct flights to most major US cities and several international destinations. According to the World Airports Council International , DFW was the world's third-busiest airport by passenger movements and second-largest by passenger traffic from 2022 to 2023. While American calls DFW home, it is still the second-largest airline hub, trailing behind Delta Air Lines in Atlanta (ATL).
DFW is not just home to American Airlines, with the airport being a hub and operating base for: Ameriflight (Hub) Southern Airways Express (Hub) UPS Airlines (Hub) Frontier Airlines (Operating base) Spirit Airlines (Operating base) The story of how Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) became American Airlines' largest hub. 2 Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) 6,880,657 seats in Q2, 2023 At just over half of that at DFW, Texas' second-busiest airport is Houston George Bush Intercontinental, which serves greater Houston. Growing its capacity by just 2% compared to 2019, the airport is a hub for United Airlines and was renamed in 1969 in honor of George H.
W. Bush. IAH has five runways, all of which are more than 9,000 feet in length.
According to Fly2Houston , the airport recorded over 422,000 flight operations in 2023. The airport is spread across five terminals, with 121 gates. IAH has its own automated people mover to connect airside passengers between the terminals, and the airport also has its subway system that connects landside connections to each terminal and the airport's hotel.
The airport is capable of handling both the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8, which have special gates in Terminal D. Further details are below: Terminal Number of Gates Used by Terminal A 20 non-United domestic carriers Terminal B 30 United Express Terminal C 29 United domestic Terminal D 18 non-United International carriers Terminal E 24 United International The opening is at least five years in the making. Get all the latest airline route news right here 3 Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) 3,667,047 seats in Q2, 2023 Serving the state capital of Austin, AUS is located just five miles from the city's downtown core.
The airport is the third busiest in the state, with two runways and three helipads. It is a focus city for Altanta-based Delta Air Lines and will be an operating base for Allegiant Airlines through January 2025. For Q2 2023, the airport recorded 3,667,047 seats, an increase of 38% compared to 2019.
This is the largest improvement by any airport in the state and the only one to surpass 30%. Austin–Bergstrom International Airport's largest operator by number of destinations served is Southwest, which is closely followed (in no particular order) by Allegiant, American, Delta, and United Airlines. The airport does welcome several international carriers and destinations, which include: Aeromexico Mexico City Air Canada Toronto Pearson Seasonal services to Montreal and Vancouver American Airlines Cancun San Jose del Cabo British Airways London Heathrow Copa Airlines Panama City KLM Amsterdam Lufthansa Frankfurt Southwest Airlines Seasonal services to Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, San Jose del Cabo, San Juan Viva Monterrey Westjet Seasonal services to Calgary Delta is expanding rapidly, so it makes sense for Delta to make a hub.
They're currently adding 5 routes launching in 2025 from MEM, TPA, SFO, IND, and Panama City (ECP). But what routes can we see in the near future from them? 4 Dallas Love Field (DAL) 2,907,433 seats in Q2, 2023 Located just six miles from downtown Dallas, Dallas Love Field is operated by four airlines: Alaska Airlines , Delta, JSX, and Southwest. The world's largest low-cost carrier, Southwest, demands at least 95% of all operations at the airport, making this airport the largest it has by market share.
With that, more than 2.9 million passengers passed through its gates in Q2, 2023, representing an increase of 8% compared to the pre-pandemic. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics , for the year 2023, the most popular routes from Dallas Love Field were: Destination Passengers Operators Houston Hobby 416,000 JSX, Southwest Denver 400,000 Southwest Atlanta 387,000 Delta, Southwest Las Vegas 364,000 JSX, Southwest Phoenix Sky Harbor 356,000 Southwest This includes full RSA grading, installation of new drainage systems, and rehabilitation of existing taxiway pavement.
Have you heard the Simple Flying podcast recently? 5 Houston William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) 2,242,442 seats in Q2, 2023 Houston's secondary airport, Houston William P. Hobby Airport , is the city's oldest commercial airport and was the primary airport serving greater Houston before the development of George Bush Intercontinental (IAH).
Houston Hobby is yet another operating base for Southwest Airlines. The airport operates both international and domestic services. It has three runways, all of which are over 5,100 feet in length.
In Q2, 2023, HOU had over 2,242,442 available seats, still lagging by -6% compared to the pre-pandemic. Today, the airport has over eight operators, with domestic and international services available. Operators include: Allegiant Air American Airlines (American Eagle) Avelo Airlines Delta Air Lines Frontier Airlines JSX Southwest Airlines Sun Country Airlines (seasonal) Houston Hobby is an airport with a single terminal, two concourses, and 30 gates.
In February 2020, it became the first in Texas to have full biometric entry and exit for international passengers. In March 2022, Southwest announced plans to spend $250 million at the airport to add seven extra gates to the west concourse. Southwest is Texas's home airline.
Beyond Dallas, Houston Hobby is crucial to the carrier's operation..
